The Thorny Rose 2: A Bustle In Your Hedgerow
by Brennus
Summary: Sequel to (amazingly) The Thorny Rose. The Triwizard Tournament is over and Harry and Ginny are together. What has Ginny got planned for her new boyfriend next?
1. Chapter 1 - A New Day Dawning

**Chapter 1 – A New Day Dawning **

Ginny sat back in her chair and glanced around her small, brightly decorated bedroom. This room had become a sanctuary of sorts for her over the years. When her loud, boisterous brothers had been too much for her, or her mother had been fussing fit to drive her mad, she had retreated to this room and simply closed the door. In here she felt safe and comfortable, cut off from her troubles and able to relax.

Having this private space to retreat into had been a huge comfort to her the summer after she returned home from her first year at Hogwarts. She had been a complete mess at that point, reeling from the horror of having been possessed by a teenage Voldemort and confused by the strange images that lurked in her mind. Add to that the sudden realisation that she was falling in love with her rescuer, a certain Mr Harry Potter, and it was safe to say Ginny's world had been turned upside-down.

It was here, in her small, cosy, little bedroom, that she had started to put her life back together. She'd spent days just lying on her bed, sorting through her guilt and the fear that Tom wasn't truly gone. Time, however, had been a great healer and eventually she came to accept that there was little she could have done to prevent the events of her first year occurring. She had been an unworldly eleven-year-old girl away from home for the first time; what chance did she stand against a powerful Dark magic artefact created by one of the most feared men in history? When it was time to return to Hogwarts to start her second year, it was a more hopeful Ginny Weasley that boarded the train at Kings Cross.

In the end, her second year at Hogwarts had proved to be a strange one. Free of the terrible influence of the diary, she proved herself to be academically extremely gifted. It had been a couple of months into the school year when Ginny finally realised why she was finding her schoolwork so easy: Tom Riddle had left all his memories in her. At first, she had been shocked and horrified, but in time, she came to accept the knowledge she had inherited and began to use it for her best advantage.

It was after she had returned home that summer that she had started to form 'the master plan' as she thought of it, in her mind. Tom's knowledge could be enormously beneficial to her; she just needed to decide what she wanted to achieve with it. That had been easy to decide: she wanted a life of adventure, excitement and romance, and one person was uniquely positioned to give her all that and more: Harry. Once she had realised this she began to construct an intricate and cunning plan to bring the Boy Who Lived into her sphere of influence and eventually to seduce him. She'd had many wonderful fantasies thinking about how exactly she would go about it, too.

However, few plans survive contact with the real world, and Ginny had found herself having to throw most of her ideas out the window when at the beginning of the previous school year she encountered a distraught and angry Harry who had been abandoned by his friends.

Despite her concerns that she was making her move too soon, she found herself supporting and encouraging Harry, and pretty soon they had formed a warm friendship. Her previous plans crumbled into dust as she found she had no need to try to manipulate him. Simply being herself seemed to be enough.

She'd learnt many valuable lessons that year; the main one being that she wasn't nearly as clever as she thought she was. Although she was proud to say she helped Harry immensely throughout the Triwizard Tournament he'd been forced to compete in, some of her actions proved more harmful then beneficial. The rift she had helped widen between Harry and her brother Ron had nearly condemned her love to being stuck with his hated relatives for the entire summer. She had simply not appreciated the pain that the breakup would cause to both Harry and Hermione Granger, his other good friend.

Things had soon spiralled out of her control. When she and Harry had been ambushed by the ambitious Theodore Nott, a momentary lack of control had sent the Slytherin boy tumbling off a high tower to his death. While she had always hoped to become close to Harry, the shared guilt at becoming a killer was not how she envisaged it happening. Without Harry, she knew she would have broken down after that terrible night, but he had remained strong for her and their awful secret had bonded them closer together.

Ginny also cursed herself for not realising sooner the dreadful trap Harry was being lured into at the end of the Tournament. They had come within a hair's breadth of losing everything that night. Luck had been with them, however, and Voldemort had been denied his chance to reclaim his body. As an added bonus, Peter Pettigrew had been captured, which had allowed Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, to clear his name. In the end, things had worked out better than she or Harry could ever have hoped for.

Not that her life was a complete bed of roses, mind. Some members of her family continued to be frequent source of aggravation, particularly Ron. While Percy could be equally annoying, Ron had the immediate edge due to the fact that she still lived under the same roof as him. Fortunately, during the week they had been back from Hogwarts he had largely ignored her.

A less immediate although infinitely more serious problem was that somewhere, lurking hidden away, was the disembodied spirit of Voldemort, desperately seeking to return and unleash his fury on the Wizarding world. He would be hungry for revenge against Harry and would do everything in his power to destroy the Boy Who Lived.

The thought of Harry brought a smile to her lips. Tenderly, Ginny picked up Harry's latest letter, which had been lying on her desk. Realising she hadn't looked at it for at least a good ten minutes, she unfolded the letter and began to read it for about the twenty-eighth time since she had received it yesterday.

_My Darling Ginny,_

_I can't believe it's only been a week since I saw you last. It really feels much, much longer. I guess it's because we spent so much time together last term it just feels odd not to see you every day. I really miss you!_

_It's probably just as well I'm so busy or I'd be moping about in a sulk. Sirius's house is in a right state and we've been working flat out to try and make it liveable. I don't know if you know anything about the Black family, but they were a pretty nasty bunch for the most part, and the whole house is littered with Dark magic artefacts. At the moment, we're just boxing up anything we find and we'll deal with them later. Some of the objects we've discovered are just bloody evil!_

_We've definitely not been helped by the family house-elf, a miserable little creature called Kreacher. The nasty little bugger was very loyal to Sirius's mum (who was an 'evil cow' according to Sirius) and does everything he can to get in the way. He's the reason the house is so filthy and neglected. _

_Anyway, after a couple of days of fighting through the dirt and muck, we realised it would take us all summer to get the place half-decent, so we decided to employ a little extra help. Dobby was ecstatic at the idea of coming to work for me and is delighted with his ten Knuts a week salary! Needless to say, the cleaning has come on in leaps and bounds since Dobby joined us, even if Kreacher has apparently decided to hide in a cupboard most of the time. Still, not a great loss. _

_Hopefully, the house will be in a condition to receive visitors soon. Do you think your mum would let you stay over for a few days? We would be under adult supervision, after all (if you can call Sirius an adult). If not, maybe you can come and spend the day here sometime (am I sounding needy here? I'm really missing you!)._

_Anyway, I'd better go as we are making a start on the guest bedrooms today. If you are allowed to stay, I have to make sure you have a nice place to sleep, after all. _

_Missing you loads._

_Your Harry. _

Ginny grinned. She strongly suspected Harry had sought advice from Sirius again regarding some of the wording. Being referred to as 'My darling Ginny' was lovely, but rather out of character for her normally reserved boyfriend. Not that she was complaining, mind.

While she was delighted by the affectionate tone of the letter, it did bring a number of problems to mind. While they both needed a break, she couldn't let Harry and herself neglect their training for the entire summer. The Harry that had kissed her goodbye at Kings Cross station a week ago may have been virtually unrecognisable in terms of capability from the angry youth she had befriended in the Gryffindor common room last year, but he still had a long way to go it he was to be a match for Voldemort. With the Dark Lord seeking to return, they couldn't afford to waste any time in turning Harry into the kind of wizard he needed to be.

Ginny suspected that Sirius would be sympathetic to Harry's position and be more than happy to allow his godson to practice magic during the holidays. A pure-blood like Black could easily obtain a waiver from the Ministry, meaning that Harry could continue his training without fear of prosecution. Twelve Grimmauld Place sounded like a perfect place for him to practice and even contained a library, which he had previously described as being filled with dangerous and sometimes outright illegal books. The thought of all that forbidden knowledge gave Ginny a strange thrill.

Unfortunately, as promising a location as Harry's new home sounded, Ginny still faced the problem of being allowed to actually visit the place. Her mum, while apparently rather pleased she and Harry had got together, was still rather reluctant to permit her to visit the dark and potentially dangerous Black household. Dumbledore had made several comments regarding the safety and suitability of Grimmauld Place, so naturally the Weasley matriarch now believed the place to be a death trap. Ginny also suspected that her mother didn't totally trust her to be alone with her boyfriend. Quite what she thought would happen, Ginny wasn't certain, but she suspected that Molly Weasley imagined the two of them would fall prey to their teenage hormones and commit all manner of disgusting and degrading acts if they were permitted any time alone. In fact, her mother was probably paranoid she'd become pregnant before her fourteenth birthday. As if she would allow that to happen to herself!

While Ginny was quite happy with the idea of experimenting with a few 'disgusting' acts with Harry, the very last thing she would ever allow would be to become pregnant at this age. While she didn't doubt for a moment she would one day want children (she was, after all, a Weasley and producing offspring was in her blood), she had a lot she wanted to achieve before she settled down with a family. The most immediate and pressing of those goals was removing Voldemort and his followers as ever being a threat to her and her loved ones. That, Ginny knew, meant training Harry and herself to their full potential.

"Ginny," came her mother's voice from somewhere downstairs, "can you come down, please. We have visitors."

Pushing back her chair, Ginny suppressed a groan. 'Visitors' probably meant one of the numerous wings of the Weasley or Prewett family, and she was probably about to face a boring afternoon listening to some distant relative she barely knew whittle on endlessly while her mother lapped it up. Nothing was more important than family to Molly Weasley, no matter how distant or annoying.

Unenthusiastically, she trudged down the stairs and along the passageway that led to the kitchen. Once she entered the room, she gasped in surprise.

"Harry!" she exclaimed before launching herself into his waiting arms. She found herself literally lifted off the ground as he hugged her tightly.

"Hi, Ginny," he whispered into her ear. "Pleased to see me?"

"Why did you warn me you were coming," she asked, pulling away from him slightly so she could get a good look at him. "And where did you get those clothes?"

"Ah, that would be my doing, Ginny," a male voice answered from nearby. Peering around Harry's shoulder, Ginny saw a grinning Sirius Black standing next to her equally amused mother. They both obviously found the girlish enthusiasm with which she had greeted her boyfriend funny. Ginny ignored them and continued to inspect Harry's new look.

"Well, I must say they are an improvement on what you normally wear," she said approvingly. "You're looking very smart indeed, Mr Potter."

Harry blushed at her words, but they were entirely justified. Sirius had clearly taken a big hand in selecting the new clothes and Harry now had the appearance of a stylish, well-to-do, young pure-blood wizard. His dark-coloured trousers were obviously expertly tailored and were form-fitting in all the right places. An expensive looking black shirt left open at the neck was visible underneath an exquisite dark blue velvet jacket that was cut in the wizarding style. His outfit was finished off with a pair of shiny black brogues that positively gleamed in the afternoon sunlight. All in all, Harry was looking pretty damn fine.

"I couldn't have my godson wandering around looking like a tramp now, could I?" Sirius smirked. "A couple of days ago I decided both Harry and I were in urgent need of a complete change of wardrobe."

"Not that I had much choice," Harry interrupted. "You burned all my clothes apart from the one's I was standing up in!"

"Best thing for them, Harry," Sirius replied smugly. "But tell me, honestly, did you really want to carry on wearing those rags the Dursleys forced on you?"

"No, but I didn't want you to have to go out and spend a fortune, either," Harry objected. "The assistant in the tailors shop nearly cried in happiness when he realised how much you were spending."

"Harry, my lad, you are the sole heir of the Potter family and my ward," Sirius objected. "You have to keep up appearances, you know."

"Yes, and I would remind you that you now have a very demanding girlfriend, Mr Potter," Ginny added with a mischievous smirk. "I'll be expecting you to look your best for me."

"Precisely!" cried Sirius gleefully. "It would be an absolute insult to this beautiful young lady to turn up in those rags you were wearing before."

"Okay, you win," Harry said, raising his hands in surrender. "I like the new clothes, honestly. I was just concerned at the price of everything. I mean, did I really need ten pairs of silk boxer-shorts?"

"Ooh, silk," Ginny purred. "I love silk!"

"Ginny," Molly said warningly.

"I was just double checking in case Harry comes to stay here sometime and I end up doing his laundry. I'd need to separate his underwear out and do a separate wash, wouldn't I?" Ginny pointed out, lying through her teeth. "Come on, Harry. Let's take a walk round the garden."

"I think that maybe you should…" Molly began.

"So, Harry was telling me that you make the most exquisite coffee and walnut cake, Molly," Sirius interrupted. "That's my absolute favourite. I don't suppose you have a little piece I could try?"

"Oh, Sirius, I wish I'd known. I would have made one for you," Molly cried in distress. "All I have in is a custard tart. I would have…"

"Custard tart!" exclaimed Sirius. "I haven't had a slice of that in years. So what do I have to do to cajole a piece of your wonderful tart off you, my dear lady?"

While he'd been talking, Sirius had placed his right hand on Molly's back and had been subtly guiding her away from the back door. His left hand, however, was frantically signalling the two teenagers towards the exit. Needing no further encouragement, Ginny grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him towards the kitchen door. As quietly as she could, she opened it and pulled her boyfriend outside before her mother even knew what was happening.

"Come on, Harry, let's head up to the orchard. We shouldn't be disturbed up there," Ginny said, practically pulling him along.

The two of them hurried across the garden and passed through a gap in the hedge. Skirting around the edge of a lush, green field, they headed up a steep hill until they reached the ring of tall trees that surrounded the family orchard. Once they passed inside the line of mixed Ash and Chestnut trees and were out of sight of the house, they turned and looked at each other.

"Well, Mr Potter, we seem to be alone," Ginny noted with a smirk.

"We do indeed, Miss Weasley," Harry replied, matching her grin. "Whatever should we do now?"

Ginny didn't reply; she just launched herself at him and succeeded in knocking him to the ground. Before he could voice any protest, she threw herself on top of him and began to kiss him passionately. Whatever complaint Harry was going to make about her rough behaviour was soon forgotten and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. It was several minutes before their lips parted.

"Have I told you how much I've missed you?" Harry asked as they both gasped for breath.

"No, but I'm beginning to get the idea," Ginny replied. "But perhaps I need a bit more convincing?"

"Oh, definitely," he agreed before pausing. "Err, none of your brothers are likely to come up here, are they?"

"Nah," she assured him. "The twins are at Lee's house and Ron is visiting Neville. Providing Sirius can keep my mum occupied I have you all to myself."

"Sirius promised to buy us at least half an hour alone," Harry informed her. "I have every confidence in his ability to distract your mother."

"Well, what are we wasting time yakking for?" Ginny demanded. "Do you know I haven't been kissed all week? I may well waste away from neglect!"

"We can't have that now, can we?" Harry agreed and pulled her mouth to his.

If there was a better way to spend a summer's afternoon, then Ginny didn't know of it. She'd dreamed for years that one day Harry and she would be together, and the reality was even better than her imagination. The last year had been kind to Harry; he'd grown considerably and was starting to fill out in a wonderful way. Rather than the thin, almost scrawny boy he had been, the regular exercise he had been doing had started to build muscle, which she could feel as she ran her hands over his shirt. As their lips pressed against each other's, Ginny started to feel excitement build inside her. When Harry slipped his hands inside her t-shirt and began to caress her back with his rough hands, it was just about all she could do to stop herself from ripping his clothes off. She was immensely annoyed, therefore, when Harry tore his mouth from hers and pulled away slightly.

"Ginny," he gasped. "As fantastic as this is, we don't have a lot of time and we need to talk about some things."

"Can't we talk later," she demanded. "There will be plenty of time to chat when we go back to the Burrow."

"No, there's stuff we need to talk about in private," Harry insisted. "Stuff we put off talking about at the end of term."

Realising what he was referring to, Ginny reluctantly rolled off Harry and lay on her side next to him. This was not going to be an easy conversation.

"Harry, if Sirius was only sure of distracting my mum for half an hour, I don't think we have time now to discuss everything we need to, " she told him. "I mean, I think we've used most of our time up, anyway, and trust me, this won't be a conversation we want to rush."

"No, I understand that," he agreed. "I think you need to come over to Grimmauld Place so we can talk about everything in private. But what I really wanted to say to you now is that when we have that talk I think Sirius should be included."

"What?" Ginny exclaimed. "Harry, I didn't want you finding out that I had Riddle's memories; I certainly don't want your godfather to know, too. He'd probably ban me from ever seeing you again, or just turn me over to Dumbledore."

"Hear me out," Harry insisted. "Sirius and I have talked an awful lot over the last week and I've really got to know him better. For one thing, he comes from a pretty Dark family and I don't think he'd really be too shocked by any information you could come out with. Besides, I don't think he's terribly happy with Dumbledore right now. Twelve years in Azkaban during which our esteemed Headmaster did sod all to get him out or check his story has shaken Sirius's faith in him. Let's face it, Ginny; we need an adult on our side. If we're going to train over the summer like we did last year, we need him on board. Now, I'm not exactly sure what this terrible secret you have to tell me about my scar is, but I can guess it's not going to be good judging from your reaction. Whatever it is, I suspect we're going to need his help."

Ginny dropped her eyes. As much as she wanted to tell Harry there was no way in hell she was sharing her secret with anyone else, she had to admit what he said made sense. She wasn't even fourteen yet and that severely limited her freedom of action. Her mother would be watching her like a hawk now she had a boyfriend, and that meant they wouldn't be able to continue with the planning and training they both needed. If Molly Weasley ever found out that she was training to fight Voldemort's followers… well, she didn't even want to think what the results of that would be! As much as she wanted to keep this between Harry and herself, they needed Sirius's help.

"I see what you're saying," she said hesitantly, "but it's still a big risk. If my secret ever got out, Harry, just think what the Ministry would do to me. I'd be pumped full of Veritaserum until I was a vegetable and thrown in Azkaban until I rotted."

"I know," Harry agreed, "but I really do trust Sirius. I don't think there is a chance in hell that he'd betray us. That said, I expect my dad thought the same thing about Peter Pettigrew. No, when we tell Sirius about this I'll be standing right behind him with my wand out and if he even looks like he's not happy to keep this quiet, I'll Obliviate him."

"Do you even know that spell?" Ginny asked, a little shocked he'd suggest such a thing.

"Yeah, I found it in one of the books in Grimmauld Place and I'm pretty sure I can cast it. I wouldn't have even suggested this if we didn't have a back-up plan. There's no way I'd ever risk losing you, Ginny, it would just destroy me," he said passionately.

Ginny felt herself melt at his fierce defence of her. She'd dreamed for years that Harry would come to feel the same way about her as she did about him, and now it appeared her dreams were a reality. It was just a shame that they were stuck in the middle of this life-threatening mess and she didn't have the time to fully enjoy it. They faced a terrifying Dark Lord, an incompetent Headmaster and a corrupt Government. Between that lot and the well-meaning interference of friends and family, the picture didn't look too rosy.

"Alright, let's do it," Ginny said after some thought. "But I have two conditions. If Sirius agrees to help us, I want an Unbreakable Vow from him that he'll tell no-one else about me or anything he learns. Okay?"

"Yeah, that seems a pretty sensible precaution," Harry agreed. "In fact, it's a shame my parents didn't ask for a vow from everyone who knew their location when they went into hiding."

"It would have probably saved their lives," Ginny agreed. "My other condition is that I'm not going to tell Sirius absolutely everything I know. There are some things that have to stay just between us. I'll explain everything to you first, and then we'll decide exactly how much to tell Sirius. It's probably better if I explain exactly what Voldemort did before we involve anyone else."

"Okay," Harry said warily. "I have to say, I'm starting to get a bit scared about what you have to tell me, Gin. Is it really that bad?"

"Yes, Harry, it is," she told him earnestly. "But every problem has a solution, and I have an idea how we can address this. I won't kid you; we are in for a long, hard battle, love. We'll need to train hard if we're going to win this, and become the best we can be. I expect we'll need a lot of luck, too."

Harry snorted. "When have I even not needed a ton of luck? About the luckiest thing that's ever happened to me was you deciding to come and help me last year."

Ginny leaned forward and pressed a light kiss on Harry's lips. "You're very sweet, but that was nothing to do with luck. That was just me wanting to help this sexy, raven-haired bloke who I really fancied in the hope he would snog me. My intentions were purely selfish."

"Well, that plan worked out nicely, didn't it?" Harry laughed.

"It did, and I only wish I had more time to enjoy the fruits of my success, but I think my mum will be wondering where we are by now," she lamented.

"Probably," Harry agreed. "I mean, Sirius is good at proving distractions, but this is your mum he's up against."

"Come on," Ginny said, climbing to her feet. "We'd better go back before the search party arrives."

Hand in hand, the two of them made their way back down the hill. They ambled along in no particular hurry, just enjoying the beautiful weather and the lush green countryside around them. They eventually arrived back at the house and found the back door still wide open, just as they left it. Creeping quietly into kitchen, Ginny saw her mother sitting at the kitchen table with her back to them. Sirius was sat across from her and appeared to be surrounded by a mountain of empty plates and bowls. Clearly, Harry's godfather had managed to sample more than a piece of custard tart. As they stood by the door, Ginny could hear her mother speaking.

"…and if it wasn't for Hagrid creating a diversion we would have been in all sorts of trouble, bless him. I still don't know how Arthur and I got away with it. I mean, my bra was lying right there on the floor; how Professor Kettleburn missed seeing it I'll never know!"

"Ahem," Ginny cleared her throat loudly, causing Molly to jump about a foot out of her seat. The Weasley matriarch spun round and looked at her daughter in wide-eyed horror.

"Oh, there you two are," Molly said in a flustered voice. "Err, did you have a nice time?"

"Yes, we had a lovely walk up round by the orchard," Ginny replied, struggling to keep her voice neutral. A quick glance at Harry showed that he looked as embarrassed as her mother.

"Sounds perfectly enchanting," Sirius cut in. "Your mother was just telling me about some of her adventures during her time at Hogwarts. It quite makes me wish I'd been at school at the same time as her. She must have been the prettiest girl in the whole of Gryffindor House. I bet you had to fend the boys off with a stick before you were married, eh, Molly?"

"Oh, Sirius, really!" Molly scolded him, although she didn't look displeased with the compliment.

"Did you get a chance to talk to Mrs Weasley about Ginny coming over to help decorate?" Harry asked his godfather.

"Oh, I quite forgot," Sirius exclaimed before turned to address Molly. "We've finished clearing out most of the house and we've just got a few rooms to decorate now. Harry mentioned that young Ginny here is a bit of a budding artist. We thought she might like to do some of the fine detailing while we boys just slap the Paint Charms on the walls."

"Is it quite safe?" Molly asked. "Albus mentioned there were a lot of Dark Artefacts left about the house. In fact, he was worried about Harry staying there…"

"Albus really is turning into a bit of a worrywart in his old age, isn't he?" Sirius laughed. "Oh, there were a few unsavoury objects lying about but we soon cleared them out. The most dangerous thing we had to contend with was a Doxy infestation in one of the spare rooms. No, the house is perfectly safe, just a bit dull and depressing. A lick of paint here and there will do wonders for the old place."

"Perhaps I should come over with Ginny and give you a hand as well," Molly suggested doubtfully.

"That is wonderfully kind of you, but total unnecessary," Sirius assured her. "Most of the work is done, the place just needs brightening up, is all. But why don't you bring Ginny over tomorrow morning and have a look for yourself? If you're happy with everything you can then leave her in my supervision."

"Alright, that doesn't sound unreasonable," Molly agreed. "I was just a bit concerned about the way Albus described the house. No offence to you, of course, Sirius."

"None taken," Sirius said, favouring her with a charming smile. "I totally understand your concerns, even if I do think Albus has rather exaggerated the whole thing. Quite why he was so insistent Harry should live with his dreadful aunt I have no idea. That beastly woman barely fed the poor lad."

"I can't deny that I worried about poor Harry, left with those awful Muggles," Molly agreed, obviously in agreement with Sirius's words, but also reluctant to criticize Dumbledore too much. "I understand Albus wanted to keep him safe, but there had to be a better way, hadn't there?"

"There were loads of better ways, Mrs Weasley," Harry interrupted. "I don't think the Headmaster ever really believed me when I told him how bad the Dursleys were."

"He's too trusting for his own good sometimes," Sirius agreed. "He just assumes that because Petunia was Harry's aunt that she would automatically love and care for him. Albus always sees the good in people but he can sometimes miss seeing the bad in them, too. The Dursleys are vile, petty excuses for human beings and Harry should never have been left with them."

Molly sighed. "Sadly, I have to agree with you, Sirius. Harry should never have been left in the care of those people. Why, he was always just skin and bones when he came here to visit. What sort of monsters can't even be bothered to feed a growing boy like him?"

"Exactly," Sirius agreed. "I've heard about how you always treated Harry like one of your own, Molly, and I can't thank you enough. You really do have a heart of gold, my dear woman."

"Oh, don't be silly, Sirius," Molly blushed. "Anyone would do the same for a wonderful boy like Harry."

"But you're the one who did," Sirius insisted. "You looked out for him while I couldn't, and I'll always be in your debt for that."

"Yes, thank you, Mrs Weasley," Harry added. "You really don't know what it meant to me to be able to come here during the holidays. I don't remember too much about my mother, but I really hope she was like you. Thank you for being so kind."

"Oh, really, it was nothing," Molly said. "Oh, I really should clear these dishes away."

Molly stood and began bustling about, collecting the empty plates and transferring them to the sink. From where she was standing, Ginny could clearly see her mother's eyes were damp. Whatever issues she had with her mum, Ginny had to admit at that moment she was so proud of being the daughter of Molly Weasley that she thought she would burst.

"Well, as wonderful as it has been, it's time for Harry and I to head home," Sirius announced. "Molly, your reputation as the finest cook in the land is well deserved. Everything you served me today was scrumptious. Thank you for that veritable feast you gave me."

Sirius walked over to Molly and planted a big kiss on her cheek, causing her to blush like a schoolgirl. Ginny barely managed to supress a giggle at how girlish her mother was acting.

"Goodbye, Mrs Weasley. I'll see you tomorrow," Harry said, and then promptly shocked Ginny by walking over and hugging her mother. Never before could she remember him actually instigating any physical contact. Of course, this nearly set Molly off crying again, but she was also beaming with pleasure at Harry's gesture.

"Come along then, Harry," Sirius said with a grin. "We still have a lot to do today."

"Um, can I just say goodbye to Ginny?" Harry mumbled.

Molly and Sirius exchanged a brief look.

"Of course, Harry," Molly agreed with a knowing expression on her face. "We'll just be in the living room."

"Don't take too long," Sirius said winking at them.

As soon as the two adults disappeared into the other room, Ginny leapt into her boyfriend's arms.

"Oh, it was so good to see you today," she told him, hugging him tightly. "But will everything be alright tomorrow? Do you think Mum will be happy to let me spend the day at your house?"

"Yeah, I think so," Harry said with a mischievous grin. "Remember I told you we hired Dobby to help with the clean-up? What I didn't tell you was that Dobby roped in a load of elves from Hogwarts to help. He said they were all bored with no pupils at the school and were grateful for something to do. There's only one room that hasn't been finished yet, and that's the one we'll show your mum. We'll make a start slapping a bit of paint about, and once she's left we'll call in Dobby's gang to finish the job. We'll have all day free to talk."

"Brilliant!" Ginny exclaimed. "I'm starting to think it will be a good idea telling Sirius about everything. He definitely has a sneaky side, hasn't he? I never, ever thought I would hear someone convince my mum that Dumbledore is anything less than perfect."

"See, I told you," Harry laughed. "But I'd better go. I'm sure your mum's timing how long we're out here."

Harry leaned down and gently pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was slow and tender, and made Ginny's knees tremble.

"Damn, has anyone ever told you what a great kisser you are, Harry?" she asked him.

"No, actually they haven't," he said grinning.

"Good, because no one else gets to sample those lips but me," she said possessively. "Come on, you'd getter go before Mum comes looking for us."

A few minutes later, Ginny stood beside her mother as Harry and Sirius disappeared into the Floo. Both Weasley women remained standing in the living room for a moment after they had left.

"Sirius appears to be a good influence on Harry," Molly ventured eventually. "He certainly seems happier than I've ever seen him before, and I must say he looked extremely smart in his new clothes."

"Yes, he did, didn't he?" Ginny agreed happily.

"I can't say how delighted I am that you and Harry have got together," Molly continued. "I always hoped he would see what a wonderful girl you are. I just wish that he and Ron hadn't had that massive falling out."

"Ron's got a lot of growing up to do," Ginny replied. "He's got to learn to keep his temper in check or he's going to keep losing friends. He's already lost Harry and Hermione and he'll make an enemy of half the school the way he's going on."

"I'm worried about him, Ginny," Molly sighed. "Some of the things he's been saying since he came back from school… they just don't sound like him, at all."

"He'll come round," Ginny prophesised. As much as she was disgusted with her brother, she still loved him and hoped he'd see sense. Not that she was ever going to let him influence Harry again, though.

"I hope so, my love, I hope so," Molly said sadly before heading back to the kitchen.

Ginny watched her go before she turned and headed back to her room. Harry's visit had put her in a wonderful mood and she was determined not to let her idiot brother spoil it. Maybe tomorrow, if her mother proved amenable, things would get even better.

Talking a seat at her desk, Ginny began to re-read Harry's letter for the twenty-ninth time.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"Well, I do have to say I think you were right about Albus," Molly Weasley said. "This place looks absolutely fine to me. Perhaps he was just misinformed?"

"I really don't know, Molly," Sirius replied. "Quite how he could judge the place as unfit for Harry to live without seeing it first is beyond me. I sometimes wonder if Albus is taking on too much, you know. What with Hogwarts, the ICW and his position on the Wizengamot, I think he's spreading himself a bit thin. He'll work himself into the ground if he's not careful."

"I hadn't thought of it like that," Molly said in a distressed voice. "That really is too much for anybody to take on, even him. He must never get a moment to himself, the poor man."

"I fear you're right, Molly," Sirius agreed gravely. "He really should be encouraged to take things a bit easier. I mean, most men would be thinking about retirement at his age. I think he's getting tired and it's starting to effect his judgement."

"Oh, I'm sure it's not that bad," Molly disagreed. "He probably just needs a good, long holiday. A nice rest will do him good."

"Yes, but when will he ever have time for a break? I understand he's over in Paris hosting a conference for the ICW as we speak," Sirius pointed out. "I just think he's been making some rash decisions lately. And all this stuff about You-Know-Who returning…"

"He must have had a good reason for saying that," Molly objected.

"Yes, but Harry was there and he didn't see any sign of the evil bugger, and if anyone would recognise him it would be Harry," Sirius pointed out gently.

"I suppose so," she said doubtfully, "but we all depend on Dumbledore so much. I can't bear to think what we would do without him."

"No one lives forever, Molly, and we will have to manage without him someday," Sirius said firmly. "Now, what time did you want Ginny back?"

"What? Oh, if she could be home before six that would be good," Molly replied absently. "I would invite you over for dinner but Ron will be back and with him and Harry not getting on…"

"That's quite alright," Sirius said, shepherding Molly towards the Floo. "We are well provided for here. I'll make sure Ginny is back in plenty of time for dinner."

"Thank you, Sirius," Molly replied while stepping into the Floo. "Now, you will call me if there are any problems, won't you?"

"Of course I will. But really, my dear lady, what can go wrong with a bit of decorating? The worse thing that can happen is that we accidently paint the walls pink," he joked.

"You're right, it's just me being overprotective again," Molly scolded herself. "You have a good day, Sirius, and let me know if you need anything."

"Naturally, Molly. Give my best to the rest of your family," Sirius said graciously. He stood and watched until the green flames of the Floo flared and Molly Weasley vanished. With a sigh, he turned and headed by to the living room.

"Has Mum gone?" Ginny asked as soon as he entered.

"Yes, I didn't think she was going to leave for a moment," Sirius confided. "Your mother is a lovely woman, Ginny, but she does make an awful fuss."

"Tell me about it," Ginny grumbled.

"Still trying to sow some doubt in her mind about Dumbledore?" Harry noted. "You're doing a better job of it than I would have ever believed possible."

"It's high time we all stopped treating Albus Dumbledore like some sort of god," Sirius noted sourly. "People forget just how bad things got at the end of the first war with You-Know-Who, and part of that was because of his weak leadership. If half of what you tell me about his behaviour in recent years is true, Harry, then he should be pensioned off and thrown in a retirement home."

"No arguments here," Ginny agreed. "Now, Harry and I need to talk about a few things, but after that we'll need to sit down and have a chat with you, too."

"Ah, yes. This mysterious conversation that you two want to have," Sirius said. "You know, Harry, when you persuaded me to arrange for Ginny to come over here unsupervised, I assumed it was just so you two could snog. I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed there's a serious reason behind it."

"Oh, we'll snog later, but we have some things we have to tell you first," Harry said grinning.

"That's my boy," Sirius replied, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye.

"At this rate, you'll be lucky if you get a peck on the cheek," Ginny said warningly. "Come on, Harry. We have things to discuss."

Harry nodded and, taking Ginny's hand, led her out the door and towards the staircase.

"Enjoy your 'talk'," Sirius called as they left the room. She could hear him sniggering as they left.

"Is he really in his thirties?" Ginny asked in disbelief as they climbed the stairs. "He acts more like a teenager than you do."

"I can't decide if that's more of an insult to him or me," Harry laughed. "Come on, Gin. This is my room just here."

Harry led her into a spacious bedroom that had been decorated in Gryffindor colours. The walls were a warm, vibrant red colour and the curtains and carpet were a yellowish-gold. The brightness was tempered by the furniture, which was all of old, dark-wood construction and looked expensive. While the bed wasn't a four-poster, it was large and Ginny had a sudden, irrational desire to sprint forward and throw herself on it, possibly dragging Harry with her. She mentally slapped herself: they had important things to discuss today.

As if sensing her mood change, Harry took her hand and led her to a small sofa that was placed in front of the unlit fireplace. She could just imagine that on a cold winter's day this would be just the place to curl up and snuggle in comfort, but on this warm summer's day it would serve as the perfect place for their discussion. They sat themselves down and Harry looked her expectantly. She sighed and wondered where to start.

"I guess the first thing I need to explain is exactly why Voldemort didn't die completely when you destroyed his body back in '81," Ginny began. "When he was at Hogwarts, Riddle became obsessed about death and the idea of dying. He felt that death was the ultimate enemy and a truly powerful wizard should be able to defeat it. He actually found the solution in a book of Ancient Egyptian magic and to his delight found the method had been successfully used before. Have you ever heard of a Horcrux, Harry?"

"Can't say that I have," he replied.

"It's the foulest of magics, and requires a human sacrifice through a deliberate act of murder to work," she explained. "It literally splits a wizard's soul into two. The wizard will keep the major portion of his soul with him and take the smaller piece and place it into a specially prepared container. This could be anything, as long as it has the required ability to absorb magical energy, even another living entity can be used. The container is then magically sealed and layers of protections can be cast on it. Because it contains a 'living' human soul, it's extremely hard to destroy. It takes something of enormous destructive ability to destroy a Horcrux, like Fiendfyre or a dragon's venom. But while the Horcrux exists, the wizard who created it is inseverably linked to this world and cannot truly die. He might lose his body, like Voldemort did, but his spirit will be tied to this plane of existence."

"And he'll have a chance to regain a body later, like Voldemort tried to do, right?" Harry asked.

"Exactly," Ginny said smiling, glad that he understood the concept so readily.

"But you mentioned that these Horcruxes had been made before?" he pointed out. "Are there other immortal Dark wizards out there apart from Voldemort?"

"Actually, there aren't" she said. "And you've hit on the one thing Riddle didn't like about using a Horcrux. No matter how well protected it was, it could still be destroyed. As far as records go, Horcruxes have been created twice before by Dark wizards. On both occasions, the forces of Light were able to hunt the Horcruxes down and destroy them, before the wizards themselves were dealt with. One of the wizards revealed the location of his Horcrux himself under torture, while the other just picked a crap hiding place. Either way, with their Horcruxes destroyed both wizards were executed without problems."

"Wow," Harry gasped. "But this means we can deal with Voldemort, right? We just need to find his Horcrux and deal with it."

"Ah, this is where things get difficult," Ginny noted. "Riddle wasn't stupid and realised that no matter how well hidden a Horcrux was, it could still be destroyed. So, being a smart lad, he figured that if one of them would be hard to find, multiple Horcruxes would be even harder."

"He made more than one? Bloody hell!" Harry exclaimed. "Just how many of these things did he make?"

"I can't be absolutely sure because Tom's memories only go up to the creation of the first one, but he established that extra protection could be gained by creating a magically significant number of Horcruxes. He felt the most suitable number would be seven," she explained.

"Seven!" Harry said in horror. "But if they're all well hidden we may never find that many! He really split his soul up into that many pieces? Is that even safe?"

"Well, actually, no," she confirmed. "If you read a history book about the war against Voldemort, it's noted that over time he became less and less human-looking. Each time he split his soul he lost a little more of his humanity. The only good thing about this is that Riddle realised that might happen and knew there would be a limit to the number of times he could do it. From the research he did, I think he's reached that limit."

"Great, so he can't make any more," Harry snorted, "but I think seven are plenty enough to worry about, anyway."

"Not seven," she disagreed. "Voldemort had to retain the major piece of his soul with him at all times, so he just planned to create six. Additionally, one of his Horcruxes has already been destroyed. You should know; you stuck a basilisk fang through it."

"The diary?" Harry noted in surprise. "That contained an actual piece of his soul? Now I think about it, I guess that makes sense. So we have to identify and find five others, then. Do you even have an idea where to start?"

"Actually, I know exactly where one piece of Voldemort's soul is at this exact moment," she replied hesitantly.

"Great!" Harry said enthusiastically. "If we explain all this to Sirius I bet he'll help us retrieve it. Where is it anyway?"

Ginny didn't immediately answer. For a long while she sat and stared into Harry's bright green eyes. Then, with a trembling hand, she reached up and gently traced Harry's lightning-bolt shaped scar with her finger.

"I'm sorry, my love," she whispered. "But one of the Horcruxes is right here."

Harry stared at her horror.


	2. Chapter 2 – Confession Is Good For the

**Chapter 2 – Confession Is Good For the Soul**

AN

Firstly, a big thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the first chapter. I have to say, I'm delighted how well it was received, particularly the changes I made to Sirius. You'll all be pleased to know that this story it fairly Sirius-heavy, so there will be plenty more of the loveable rogue to come.

Right, chapter 2! I'm genuinely intrigued how Ginny's plan to rid Harry of his Horcrux will be received. It will push the story in a direction a lot of people won't have been expecting, but hopefully I've given an old idea some new twists. Be aware, though, a lot has to happen before Ginny's plan is put into action. Oh, and I apologise for having a bit of fun with some of the ideas other writers have had for ridding Harry of his Horcrux, but I am very evil, after all.

Finally, some of you may feel that Sirius's comments about that Dutch witch were a bit misogynistic. I will say that I thought they were in character and, besides, those words might come back to bite him.

Massive thanks to Arnel for her superb beta work and discussions about Harry's satanic wardrobe.

* * *

"I'm—_I'm_ a Horcrux?" Harry stammered in horror. "I have a piece of Voldemort's soul _inside_ me?"

"I'm afraid so, Harry," Ginny replied in a quiet voice. "Think about it, you clearly have a connection with that monster that couldn't have come about any other way. For months you've been able to see what's been happening to Voldemort. All those dreams you've been having about old men being killed and giving Pettigrew orders. That's a direct result of your connected souls."

"Those were real? You said they were just strange dreams!" he protested.

"I could hardly tell you the truth, could I?" Ginny pointed out. "I knew as soon as you started having those dreams that Voldemort must be gaining power and was close to regaining a body, but how the hell could I explain how I knew that?"

Harry leapt to his feet and began to pace frantically. He began to run his fingers through his already messy black hair, which Ginny recognised as one of his visible signs of stress. She watched him fret mournfully.

"So… if Voldemort can't be killed while these Horcruxes exist and I have one in me… can we get it out without killing me, Ginny?" he asked plaintively.

"If it had been a proper Horcrux, then no, but yours was never intended to be one," she explained. "When Voldemort's body was destroyed a piece of his soul must have splintered off as a result of him killing your mum. While the larger part fled, the smaller, detached part urgently needed a new host or it would have just faded out of existence, and I'm afraid you were the only available candidate. But to create an actual Horcrux a ritual needs to be performed and the host vessel needs to be prepared. Neither of those things happened, so Voldemort's soul fragment is just latched onto your soul rather than being properly integrated."

"So, we can get it out?" he asked hopefully.

"Well, yes, but not easily," she said apologetically. "The method of removing it is rather… radical."

"What do you mean, radical?" he asked suspiciously. "Don't tell me we have to pour basilisk venom onto my scar or something?"

"Nah, the venom wouldn't distinguish between the soul fragment and your flesh," she explained. "I don't think burning a hole right through your head would do you a lot of good."

"Okay then, what about a Dementor?" he suggested. "They suck people's souls out of them; could we get one of them to kiss my scar?"

Ginny shook her head. "Harry, Dementors drain positive feelings out of people. They love to eradicate every positive emotion a person has. Now tell me, if a Dementor is about to kiss you, and it suddenly finds it has two souls to choose from— Voldemort's black one and your noble, compassionate one—which do you think it would pick?"

"So, how do we get it out then?" Harry demanded frantically.

"We replace it," she said simply. "Voldemort's soul fragment isn't attached firmly, so if a piece of someone else's soul was introduced under the right conditions it would almost certainly be able to expel the unwanted piece."

"What?" Harry yelped. "Someone else's soul? How the bloody hell do I attach a piece of someone else's soul to myself?"

"Through a Soul-Bonding ritual," she informed him, deliberately not looking him in the eyes.

"A Soul-Bonding ritual? What the pissing-hell is a Soul-Bonding ritual?" he yelled, clearly becoming more and more agitated.

"It's rarely used these days, but it's meant to be the ultimate expression of true love," she explained, her fingers fidgeting as she did so. "Marriages can always be annulled and partners can end up cheating on each other. This ritual was designed so those things can never happen. Once a couple are Soul-Bonded, they are together for life. Even if one of them dies, the other is likely to follow them shortly afterwards."

Harry stared at her open mouthed. She continued to avoid his gaze and carried on with her explanation.

"The ritual literally involves sharing a piece of your soul with your partner. If you performed this ritual with m… I mean, someone, they would exchange part of their soul with you and that would be enough to force Voldemort's unstable piece out. Just as creating a Horcrux is an act of pure hate, this ritual is one of pure love. Even if you weren't introducing a well-anchored soul segment into yours, the overwhelming feeling of love would be more than any part of Voldemort could stand."

"Okay, I can see how it would deal with the Horcrux in me, but what are the drawbacks? Why is this ritual not performed anymore?" he asked warily.

"As I said, it's quite radical an option," she replied. "Apart from the whole 'if one person dies and the other does, too' thing, the two people become inseparably linked. They'll never take another lover or partner. There's a recorded case where one woman tried to cheat on her Soul-Bonded mate and she became physically sick as soon as she kissed this other bloke. Likewise, if the couple are separated for too long they are likely to become ill; more than a few weeks apart is likely to trigger it. So, basically if you go through with this ritual, you're stuck with that person for life. That's a huge commitment and not many people want to do that these days. Besides, if the couple aren't truly in love when they undertake the ritual it can have some nasty side-effects."

"So I can't just pull some random girl off the street and ask her to do the ritual with me then?" Harry joked grimly. "This all sounds ridiculous to me. I mean, once these couples are bonded, can they hear each other's thoughts and communicate telepathically or something?"

"Don't be stupid, Harry," Ginny scolded him. "That only happens in fairy-tales."

"Oh, silly me," Harry spat. "If one person snuffs it, the other does too, but no mind-reading! I really should have figured that one out for myself, shouldn't I?"

"Look, I'm trying to explain all this to you, if you'd just give me a second," Ginny yelled back. "It's not my fault you don't know any of this stuff."

"I didn't bloody say it was!" Harry bellowed. "What are we even discussing this rubbish for, anyway? You said it yourself: nobody does this stupid ritual anymore. What girl in her right mind would bond herself to someone who has a Dark Lord trying to kill him?"

"I would, you bloody idiot!" she screamed.

Harry stopped short. He gaped at Ginny in surprise.

"Ginny, I…" he began awkwardly.

"I don't mean right now," she muttered, devastated that she had revealed so much to Harry. "If nothing else, we both need to be of age to undertake such a ritual. Can you imagine my mother agreeing to it otherwise?"

"But, Ginny," Harry said, sitting himself back down on the couch next to her. "You're only thirteen-years-old! How can you know that you want to bond with me for life? I know you've had a crush on me for ages, but we've only been officially dating for a week or so. I bet you get fed-up with me eventually…"

"Harry, you really are a moron, do you know that?" she asked in an amused voice.

"It's a valid question," he shot back sounding a little hurt.

"Let me explain this," she sighed. "Magic isn't just about the power you can put into a spell, or how difficult it is to cast. It's part of us, and our magic is reflected in the kind of person we are. It's no great surprise that mean-spirited or evil people are the best at casting Dark curses. This means that magic can act just like an aura, particularly for really powerful witches and wizards, who have a tendency to radiate their magical power, anyway. Dumbledore does it all the time, for example. When two magically talented people meet, their auras will encounter one another and react. If they are likeminded and compatible, the auras will mesh together and they will feel a sense of friendship, or even possibly attraction, to each other. If the auras aren't compatible, like yours and Draco Malfoy's for instance, it can cause aggravation and hatred in extreme examples. Not everyone is good at sensing these auras, Harry, but I am. Ever since I first met you at Kings Cross station, I've felt that our magical auras are a perfect match. I'd always hoped that you might feel it, too, but you are a boy and therefore as thick as a plank."

"Thanks," Harry said sourly. "So, why have you never mentioned this before? Hell, why has no one ever mentioned it before?"

"Like I said, not many people are good at reading magical auras and it's not a commonly used practice. Besides, what good would have explaining done if you couldn't feel it yourself?" she pointed out.

"But I think I can feel it," Harry objected. "There are times when I can literally feel that you're close by, even when I can't see you. Or when we kiss, it's like we're becoming one person or something. Oh, damn it! I can't explain how it feels!"

"I'd be amazed if you could," Ginny giggled. "You're hardly Mr Eloquence, are you?"

Harry snorted. "Nah, I guess not. I can grunt expressively on occasion, but that's about it. So, where does this leave us? Are we destined to be together, no matter what?"

"Nothing's ever set in stone," she said, "but we are a very good choice for each other. Look, don't worry about it for now. We're both very young and, as you say, we've only just got together. Let's just let things take their course naturally."

"And what about this piece of Voldemort's soul I have in me?" he asked pointedly.

"It's not an immediate worry," she assured him. "Without a body, Voldemort is weak at present. Remember, it took him years to get to the stage where he could even try to regain his human form after you defeated him the first time. The protections your mother cast on you will help enormously, too. You really need to crack on with your Occlumency training, though. It will help you to protect your mind from intrusion and block off any attempts Voldemort makes at influencing you."

"Okay, we'll make this one of the things we talk to Sirius about. Perhaps he can arrange for someone to train us properly?" Harry suggested, sounding a bit more positive.

"It would be a good idea. I'm not particularly adept at it, so a skilled teacher would be wonderful," she agreed. "As for what we tell Sirius, I say we tell him about the Horcruxes in general, but not about the one in you. Of course, I think we'll have to tell him about my inherited memories, otherwise I'd have no way of explaining how I knew all these things."

"I agree," he said decisively, "and there's no need to mention what happened on the Astronomy Tower, either."

"Absolutely," Ginny agreed resolutely. "We never tell anyone about that, ever!"

"Agreed. Well, I understand now why you were so keen on us discussing all this somewhere private. It's been a shock to the system and no mistake," Harry exclaimed.

"I know. We're good, though, aren't we? You understand why I didn't tell you all this immediately?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, Ginny, I do," Harry assured her with a smile. "Trust me, we're more than good."

"Great!" she said brightly. "So, do we need to go and speak to Sirius immediately, or is there something else you'd like to do first while we're all alone here?"

"Well, I do think we need to test that magical aura thing," Harry confirmed, sliding across the sofa and slipping his arms around her. "Just as an experiment, of course."

"Of course, we definitely need to experiment more," she agreed just before their lips met.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Sometime later, the two of them headed downstairs in search of Sirius. They found him in the room which was being decorated, watching contentedly as half-a-dozen elves scurried around putting the finishing touches to their work.

"Ah, there you two are," Sirius said happily when he caught sight of them approaching. "I wondered if I was going to have to come up and throw a bucket of cold water over you. So, what do you think of the room? Not a bad job, if I do say so myself."

Harry and Ginny examined the room, which this morning had been drab and depressing. The dark walls had been painted a creamy-white colour and all the furniture replaced with newer items which looked colourful and attractive. Being south facing, light streamed in through the large sash windows which were now free of the heavy, restrictive curtains that had previously hung there. All in all, the room was bright and welcoming.

"Very nice," Harry said appreciatively, "but how much of the decorating did you actually have anything to do with?"

"I supervised!" Sirius protested.

"Then why is Dobby telling all the other elves what to do and not you?" Harry asked pointedly.

"I'm supervising the supervisor," Sirius retorted.

"It looks wonderful," Ginny chipped in. "I'm sure you worked very hard."

"Thank you," Sirius replied before shooting Harry a dirty look. "It's nice to know my efforts are appreciated by someone. After all, it's not like you helped much, Harry. Of course, I realise that you had more important things to do…"

"Before you start, we haven't been snogging," Harry began. Sirius just looked at him with an amused expression. "Okay, we have been snogging, but not for long. We've mainly been talking and we have some important things to tell you."

"Oh, Merlin! You're not pregnant, are you, Ginny?" Sirius asked in a panic.

"Sirius!" Ginny cried in shock. "I'm not even fourteen years old yet! How could you think such a thing?"

"That's not so young," Sirius disagreed. "It wasn't so many years ago that you would have been of marriageable age. In fact, in many places in the world today fifteen is an acceptable age for marriage with parental agreement. Some pure-blood families still work to those rules, you know. I was introduced to a girl whom my father informed I would be marrying when I was just fourteen, myself."

"Really?" Harry gasped. "What happened to her?"

"No idea," Sirius shrugged. "But put it this way, she was one of the reasons I ran away from home a few years later. We were both getting far too close to betrothal age and I wasn't taking any risks. I can't even remember her name now. Galatea something… she was from some Dark-aligned Dutch family. She was a big girl. Very… big. Frankly, I doubted I would have survived our wedding night, not without multiple injuries, anyway."

"I'm sure you would have made a lovely couple," Ginny snorted. "But we really do have some serious things to talk to you about."

Sirius looked at them both appraisingly. "Very well. Let's head to the kitchen; we shouldn't be disturbed there. I get the feeling I'm going to need a strong cup of tea, anyway."

They headed downstairs and took the narrow passageway that led to the basement kitchen. Once suitably fortified with tea and biscuits, they arranged themselves around the large, wooden table that dominated the room.

"A lot of what we're about to tell you is going to come as a shock," Harry began, "and it could put Ginny and myself in danger if it got out. For that reason, we need you to make an Unbreakable Vow that you'll tell no one else about what we've got to say."

"What?" Sirius yelped. "An Unbreakable Vow? That's pretty heavy stuff, Harry. You just don't enter into something like that willy-nilly."

Harry stared intently at Sirius for a moment. "Do you trust me?" he asked after a while.

"Of course I… bugger. That's going to invalidate any argument I've got, isn't it?" Sirius said mournfully. "Okay, Harry, if you think whatever you've got to tell me is so important, I'll make the Vow with you. But who will we use as the bonder?"

"I'll do it," Ginny declared.

"Are you sure you can manage?" Sirius asked in concern. "It's not a particularly easy thing to do, you know."

"I can do it easily," she replied with confidence. "I fact, my abilities are part of what we wanted to talk to you about."

Clearly intrigued, Sirius stood and joined hands with Harry. As promised, Ginny performed the bonding without difficulties and soon Sirius was magically incapable of disclosing their secrets.

"Okay, now that's out of the way can you tell me what all this is about?" Sirius demanded.

Harry looked meaningfully at Ginny and she nodded, understanding that he wanted her to take the lead on this.

"How much has Harry told you about what happened during his second year when he rescued me from the Chamber of Secrets?" she began.

"Quite a lot, actually," Sirius confirmed. "In fact, he's spent a lot of time this week giving me a pretty detailed account of everything that's happened to him at Hogwarts since he started. I suppose that was in preparation for this conversation, was it?"

"It was," Harry confirmed. "I thought it would save time if you knew all the background of what has been going on."

"Anyway, I'm sure Harry has left out a few little details of our adventure in the chamber," Ginny continued. "As you know, Voldemort left Harry with a few little gifts to remember him by. That scar for one, his Parselmouth ability for another. Well, Harry wasn't the only one that has been left a little memento of that bastard. I have, too."

"Explain," Sirius demanded, his eyes narrowing.

"As you know, I was possessed by Voldemort acting through an old diary of his. He was sucking out my life-force to enable him to return. When my dashing hero here destroyed the diary, all the life-force that Voldemort had stolen came rushing back into me. But that's not all. Because we were connected so closely when he was destroyed, all of his memories up to the point that he made the diary ended up in me, as well. I can remember everything that Voldemort did up to the age of sixteen."

Sirius looked at her in shock. "These memories, they're not sentient in any way, are they? Have they even tried to possess you at all, like before?"

"No, they're just there. I can access them as and when I want," she confirmed.

"But this is amazing!" Sirius exclaimed. "This could give us a tremendous advantage over You-Know-Who!"

"Hold on, Sirius," Harry interrupted. "Remember, you can't tell anyone about this. Especially not Dumbledore."

"Why not Dumbledore?" the older man demanded. "The bloke is definitely not in my good-books at the moment, but he's still an incredibly wise and powerful wizard. This information could be just what he needs to finally defeat You-Know-Who for good."

"We don't really trust Dumbledore anymore," Harry explained. "I told you about how he hadn't thought through controlling Snape's behaviour, didn't I? That's just the tip of the iceberg, I'll afraid. For instance, could he really not prevent anyone entering my name into the Goblet of Fire last year? And when it did happen, he made virtually no attempt to get me out of the competition."

"And what about Harry's second year?" Ginny queried. "How come this 'wise and powerful wizard' didn't twig that it was a basilisk running around the school when a second year girl could? He never did manage to work out where the Chamber of Secrets was, but again a second year boy did. Okay, Harry is a Parselmouth and used that ability to open the chamber, but he found its location by talking to Moaning Myrtle and Dumbledore could easily have enlisted the Hogwarts ghosts to help him if he so wanted. And if he's omnipotent like some people seem to think, how come he didn't notice one of his own pupils was being possessed by a Dark artefact right under his nose?"

"And in my first year, he brings a rare and valuable magical item into the castle when he knows Voldemort is trying to steal it," Harry said, taking over again. "Hogwarts might be thought of as one of the safest places in Britain, although I think that description is a joke, but you don't bring something like that into a place where its presence will put hundreds of children at risk. You just don't! It's a school, not a high-security bank vault. He then protects this item by sticking a load of tests in front of it that a group of first year kids could figure out. Oh, I'll give you that thing with the mirror was clever, but even that could have been gotten around. The Mirror of Erised would only give the stone to someone who wanted it, but not to use it, right? What if Voldemort had ordered Quirrell to kidnap some kid and told them they would be killed unless they remove the stone? That would work, wouldn't it?"

"And you said it yourself, Sirius," Ginny continued, "Dumbledore did sod all to get you out of Azkaban. It's not that we think he's evil or anything, we just think he's not as half as clever as he thinks he is."

Sirius raised his hands in mock surrender. "Okay, I get the picture. We don't involve Dumbledore. Not that I could anyway after giving that Vow. But, seriously, if You-Know-Who is going to return, and from what Harry's told me that seems a certainty, what are we going to do about it."

"That's where all these memories come in useful," Ginny said, taping her forehead with her finger. "You see, I know how Voldemort keeps coming back. I know why he can't apparently be killed."

"How?" Sirius demanded.

"Ever heard of a Horcrux?" she asked.

"Can't say that I have," he replied.

"Well, get comfortable, because I've a hell of a story to tell you about," she smiled grimly.

For the next half-an-hour, Ginny, with occasional prompting from Harry, told Sirius everything she knew about Horcruxes. She explained how an ambitious and ruthless young wizard named Tom Riddle had become obsessed by the idea of immortality, and how he had carefully researched the subject before settling on the idea of multiple Horcruxes to obtain his dream. She told Sirius about Tom's 'research trips' and his careful questioning of Professor Slughorn about their creation. Finally, she explained how Tom had created his first one, the diary, and the significance of Harry's destruction of it.

Throughout all this, Sirius sat impassively, his face a mask. When Ginny had finished, he looked up gravely at the pair of them.

"This is bad," he said simply. "If what you're telling me is correct, we have no means of defeating You-Know… oh, bugger it, Voldemort, until we destroy all these Horcruxes. But we don't know precisely how many he made or what they are, correct?"

"I like to think we have more than an educated guess at the numbers, but, yes, I think that sums it up pretty well," Ginny agreed grimly.

Sirius paused, looking troubled. "Okay, you two have been totally honest with me; I think I need to do the same. Harry, have you ever wondered why Voldemort is so keen to keep coming after you?"

"Yes, I have," he confirmed, his face suddenly suspicious. "I asked Dumbledore about it, but he brushed me off. I thought initially Voldemort just wanted revenge for what happened at Godric's Hollow, but I assume there's more to it than that."

"Yes, I'm afraid there is," Sirius said sadly. "You see, Harry, your parents didn't go into hiding because Voldemort was after them. He was always after you. Before you were born there was a prophecy made that stated you were the one that was destined to defeat Voldemort. He was simply trying to eliminate the competition before you were old enough to hold a wand. Obviously, that backfired on him a bit, but still. I'm sorry, my boy, but I don't think he's ever going to rest until he's dealt with you."

Ginny stared at Sirius in horror. "What exactly does this prophecy say?" she demanded.

"I haven't the foggiest," he said apologetically. "James just told me it existed and that it involved Harry. Shortly after that, they went into hiding and I never saw them again."

"Doesn't anyone know what this thing says, then?" Harry asked. He was looking a little wild-eyed.

"Probably the seer who gave the prophecy in the first place, but I have no idea who that was. Judging from Albus's behaviour over the years, I would assume he does, too," Sirius speculated.

"We can't exactly just walk up and ask him now, can we?" Ginny snorted.

"Actually, now I think about it, I'm sure I've heard something about the Ministry keeping a record of these kind of things," Sirius said. "I have no idea where or how we can get access to those records, however. Let me start to do some digging; quietly, of course. I wouldn't want to tip-off Albus that we're looking into this."

"Definitely not," Ginny agreed. "We'll have to start to research both this bloody prophecy and potential items that Voldemort might have used to make Horcruxes. I know he was thinking that the items had to be worthy of him, but that's all I have I'm afraid."

"If we needed an ace researcher, maybe we should bring Hermione into this," Harry suggested.

"I'm not so sure, Harry," Ginny replied doubtfully. "I know you've mostly forgiven her for last year, but she still made some bad choices. How can we be sure she won't run straight to Dumbledore as soon as she hears about this?"

Harry grinned. "Oh, don't worry about her on that front," he assured her. "Everyone seems to think that Hermione's all about rules and regulations, and that she slavishly obeys authority figures. Let me tell you, that girl has broken nearly as many school rules as the twins without the slightest hint of a guilty conscience. Besides, we'll demand an Unbreakable Vow, just like we did with Sirius."

"She would be a valuable asset to have on board," Sirius agreed. "There's an extensive library here and the books covering Dark Magic were one of the few things of that ilk that we didn't throw out."

Ginny thought for a moment. Although she had been reasonably good friends with the older girl for some time, she still wasn't totally convinced that Hermione wouldn't object to them operating outside Dumbledore's control. Besides, she'd hurt Harry with her behaviour last year and Ginny didn't easily forgive that.

"Why don't we work on this ourselves first," Ginny suggested, "but get her involved if we get stuck?"

"That sounds reasonable," Harry agreed readily. "I would like to involve her at some stage, though. I understand you wanting to keep the number of people involved to a minimum, but I think this would be good for her. She's still pretty cut-up about Ron and I know she feels left out of things."

Ginny smiled at Harry's concern for his friend. Although he'd been pretty angry at Hermione last year, he just didn't have it in him to hold a grudge that long. Idly, she wondered what would happen if Ron apologised to him now. It seemed unlikely to ever happen, but you never knew.

"So, anything else we need to discuss?" Sirius asked, snapping her out of her musings.

"Yeah," Ginny remembered. "Training. Harry needs to keep up his training over the summer and I'd like to be involved, too, if we can swing it."

"Oh, yes. Harry mentioned this," Sirius acknowledged. "The good news is that I've already applied to the Ministry for a waiver for Harry to perform magic this summer while in the house. Buttering up Fudge must have done the trick, because they fell over themselves to grant it. And you will be very pleased to know, Miss Weasley, that as long as you restrict your use of magic to within these four walls, the Ministry will not have a clue if it's you or Harry casting spells, meaning you can train as well."

"Fantastic!" she exclaimed. "Now the only worry we have is getting my mum to agree to me spending my time here."

"You leave that to me," Sirius said with a wink. "I'll work the old Black charm on her. She won't know what's hit her."

"Besides, I got the impression your mum wasn't as bothered about you being here as she makes out," Harry added. "I think she feels she has to object on principal, sometimes. She sort of admitted she trusts me with you."

"Just as well she didn't see what you were doing to me earlier, then," Ginny smirked.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Sirius said loudly, before breaking into a grin himself. "Anyway, in addition to me helping you, I've asked Remus to lend a hand, as well. He seemed chuffed with the idea, and, to be honest, he's a better teacher than I'll ever be."

"That's great," Ginny said enthusiastically, "although I still want some one-on-one training sessions with Harry, myself. I've still got loads of stuff buried in my memories that I want to teach him."

"Nothing too Dark, I hope," Sirius noted. "I don't want him to become some pariah because he starts using a bunch of forbidden curses."

"Trust me," Ginny grinned evilly. "Oh, that reminds me, do you know anyone who can teach us Occlumency? We've made a start on it, but without a proper teacher it's very hard."

"Occlumency? Bloody hell! Are you sure you two are just teenagers?" Sirius said in amazement. "I don't know anyone personally, but I might be able to hire someone. I have a few contacts that I was going to re-connect with, so I'll do a bit of asking round at the same time."

"Brilliant," Harry declared. "You know, despite all the problems we have to solve, I actually feel quite positive about things now. I mean, I'm actually going to be doing something useful rather than just rot away in my uncle's house all summer. I can't say how much better that makes me feel."

Both Ginny and Sirius beamed happily at Harry's enthusiasm, and Ginny had to admit she was feeling pretty good, too. Plans had been made and allies were starting to be gathered. They had many difficulties ahead of them, but they were beginning to work on the solution to them. Oh, and she'd had a fantastic snog with Harry.

All in all, a very satisfactory day.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

A few hours later, Ginny stepped from the Floo into the kitchen at the Burrow. Almost immediately, the Floo flared again and Sirius appeared. They had decided that he would speak to Molly about Ginny spending more time at Grimmauld Place straight away.

At the sound of the Floo activating, Mrs Weasley herself stepped into the kitchen.

"Hello, Ginny, did you… oh, Sirius! I wasn't expecting to see you. There's nothing wrong, is there?" Molly asked worriedly.

"Not at all, my dear Molly," Sirius replied, putting on his most appealing smile. "We've had a wonderful day. Your daughter really is a most charming young lady; she's quite captured my heart."

"Well, I'm glad to hear you've been on your best behaviour, Ginny," Molly said approvingly.

"Oh, indeed," Sirius beamed. "We've all had a splendid time. I can quite see why Harry is so besotted with her."

Molly's smile became even wider. "I must confess I'd always hoped dear Harry would notice Ginny one day. They really do make the cutest couple."

"Mum!" Ginny protested. She could start to feel her face redden.

"They do indeed," Sirius grinned, winking at Ginny. "You should have seen them when they thought I wasn't looking. Holding hands and gazing into each other's eyes. Ah, young love."

"Didn't you have something you wanted to discuss with my mother?" Ginny asked Sirius, desperately trying to keep her voice light and friendly, while at the same time implying the threat of impending physical violence.

"Ah, yes," Sirius said, not bothering to keep the amusement from his own voice. "We have a request to make of you, Molly. Harry and I took young Ginny here on a guided tour of the house. Naturally, we showed her the library which is quite extensive. She was thoroughly impressed and she's been begging to be allowed to come back so she can complete her summer homework there. Ginny's quite the promising little academic, I must say."

"Really?" Molly said dubiously. "I must say her grades have been very good in the last few years, but she's never struck me as much of a bookworm. Besides, Ginny, you told me you'd finished most of your homework."

"The first drafts of it, yes. But with all the reference material in the Black's library, I can do so much better," Ginny lied. In fact, all her homework was completed entirely to her satisfaction and she had no intention of even looking at it again.

"I'm very pleased you're taking your education so seriously, I must say," Molly smiled approvingly. "I never thought you would start to take after Percy."

"Bill was an excellent student, as well," Ginny pointed out, rankling at being compared to perfect Percy.

"Yes, now you mention it maybe Bill is a better comparison," Molly acknowledged with a slight grin. "But I really don't want you getting under Sirius's feet. You mustn't take advantage of his hospitality."

"Nonsense, Molly," Sirius insisted. "Ginny is welcome at any time. In fact, I'll be helping Harry with some extra school projects in the coming weeks so we'll be spending a lot of time in the library, anyway. Ginny would be most welcome to join us."

"It would be a good use of her time, I suppose," Molly pondered. "She and Harry would be supervised throughout the day, wouldn't they?"

"Of course," Sirius replied, sounding slightly offended. "Besides, Harry is the heir to the Potter line and as my ward is heir to the Black family, as well. I've been instructing him how a young pure-blood wizard should conduct himself, and I expect proper behaviour from him at all times. He's taken a step up in the world now he's escaped the Dursley's and I've been teaching him everything that entails, including correct conduct around a young lady. "

"Oh, that sounds like an excellent idea, Sirius," Molly replied, clearly impressed. "I must say, Harry did look the perfect young gentleman in his new clothes yesterday. Very distinguished!"

"I would be doing James and Lily a disservice if I didn't try to educate him properly. Harry has a bright future and I must do everything I can to ensure he's prepared for it," Sirius replied in a dignified manner.

Ginny could barely stop herself sniggering by this point. Sirius was laying it on thick and her mother was lapping it up. She briefly wondered if Sirius's code of conduct was supposed to preclude Harry sticking his hand up her t-shirt like he did yesterday. Not that she'd done anything to stop him, of course, but she doubted that gentlemanly behaviour included copping a feel when then they were alone.

"It sounds like you're doing a brilliant job with that boy," Molly gushed. "I must confess, I was a little concerned if you had the experience to look after Harry, but you clearly are a wonderful guardian!"

Sirius smiled so hard Ginny thought his face was going to crack. She was just about to confirm what time she could go over to Grimmauld Place in the morning, when the Floo unexpectedly flared again and Ron stepped out.

Ron stopped and looked around the kitchen with apparent disinterest. He pointedly ignore both Ginny and Sirius and instead gave his muted attention to his mother.

"What time's dinner, Mum?" he asked in a neutral voice.

"In half-an-hour," Molly replied. "But don't you see that we have a guest? Aren't you going to greet Mr Black?"

"Hello again, Ron," Sirius said in a friendly voice. "Are you enjoying your holidays?"

"Yeah, they're okay," Ron shrugged. "I'm going up to my room, Mum. I'll be back down in time for dinner."

And with that, the lanky youth turned and vanished towards the stairs without another word. Molly huffed in frustration.

"I don't know what's going on with that boy, I really don't," she fumed. "I really must have a good talk with Arthur and see what we can do to help him."

"I'd leave the prat to sulk if I was you," Ginny said testily.

"He's still your brother, Ginevra, and don't you forget that. Something is clearly upsetting him and as his mother I need to find out what," Molly said sternly.

"Sometimes teenage boys just go through a phase like that," Sirius suggested. "I'm sure he'll grow out of that behaviour."

"Possibly," Molly conceded, "but I've already had one son virtually desert the family, I'll not lose another if I can possibly help it."

Ginny shrugged. Personally, she felt Ron would benefit most from a swift kick in the naggers, but she doubted that was what her mother had in mind. Instead, she decided to revert the conversation back to its original topic.

"So, is it okay to Floo over to Grimmauld Place tomorrow then, Mum?" she asked.

"What? Oh, yes, of course," Molly replied in a distracted voice. Clearly she was still worrying about Ron.

"Excellent!" Sirius declared. "Well, we'll expect to see you in the morning at nine o'clock sharp, Ginny. Now, I really must head home. Harry will be waiting to eat and I must say I'm famished as well. Molly; it's been a delight, as always."

"Oh, I quite forgot! Hold on a moment, Sirius," Molly cried before scurrying off towards the pantry. A moment later she returned clutching a small cake tin in her hands.

"You said that coffee and walnut cake was your favourite, so I made you a small one to take home with you. I hope you like it," Molly explained, handing the tin to a slightly stunned Sirius.

"Molly!" the man exclaimed. "You are a jewel! How can I ever thank you?"

With that, he embraced the small woman before planting a kiss on her cheek. Ginny watched in amusement as her mother flushed bright red with embarrassment and mumble that it really was nothing. Without a doubt, Sirius Black had charmed her mother completely. And that, she thought smugly, meant she'd probably get to spend as much time at Harry's place as she wanted.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

It was early on a Friday morning and Ginny was making the now familiar Floo trip from the Burrow to Grimmauld Place. Unlike her previous trips, this time she had a small bag slung over her shoulder containing some basic toiletries and a couple changes of underwear. Her mother had agreed that she could stay the weekend and she was thoroughly looking forward to it.

No sooner had she emerged from the Floo then she found herself wrapped in the arms of her raven-haired boyfriend. She giggled as he enthusiastically planted a trail of kisses down her neck.

"So, did your mum say you could stay?" Harry asked after he'd managed to tear his lips away from her flesh.

"I would have thought the bag would have been a clue, genius," she teased. "But, yeah, Mum didn't have a problem with it. I guess with Ron staying over at Neville's and the twins at Lee Jordan's place, she couldn't really object."

"Brilliant!" Harry exclaimed. "I get you all to myself for the weekend."

They both jumped as someone cleared his throat loudly behind them. Ginny peered around Harry's shoulder to see Sirius standing in the doorway wearing an amused expression.

"At least, I would have you all to myself if I didn't have this annoying old bloke hanging around the house all the time," Harry said in a deadpan voice before turning his head to look at his godfather. "You know, Sirius, if you want to go out this weekend and socialise a bit Ginny and I will be fine by ourselves."

"Yeah, maybe you could find a girlfriend of your own, rather than getting your jollies by spying on us," Ginny quipped.

"Trust me, watching two teenagers paw at each other is not my idea of a good time," Sirius retorted. "Besides, Molly would skin me alive if I left you two unsupervised and I'm far too fond of her cakes to risk upsetting her."

"I see," Ginny smirked. "You're trifling with my mother's affections and all you're really after is her baked goods!"

"Well, I do need a bit of feeding up after being on the run for so long, and Molly is just the woman to do it," he grinned. "Right, you two, before we start on any training today I thought we'd have an end of week meeting to review what we've done and discuss our future plans."

"Good idea," agreed Ginny. "I could do with a cuppa before we start, anyway."

"Then step this way, Miss Weasley, and I would only be too happy satisfy your thirst. Or ask Dobby to, anyway," Sirius grinned.

They followed him into the kitchen and were soon fortified by tea and a stack of buttered scones, courtesy of Dobby. Ginny glanced around but saw no sign of the other house-elf that was supposed to live there.

"What happened to that other elf you had?" she asked.

"Kreacher? Oh, he took exception to his new masters and the redecoration of the house. He asked for his employment to be terminated and I agreed," Sirius explained.

"He asked to be freed? I thought elves hated that," she frowned.

"He didn't ask to be freed; he asked for his employed to be terminated," Harry said in a disapproving voice. "He effectively committed suicide."

"Harry, he really wasn't happy and he was far too old to seek new employment, not that anyone would want him. Besides, he would have been a security risk to us," Sirius reasoned. "It's what he asked for, after all."

Harry said nothing, but he didn't look very happy about the situation. For her part, Ginny was glad the horrid little creature was gone. He gave her the creeps just by looking at her.

"Okay, let's get started," Sirius declared. "I call to order the first meeting of the New Marauders, as I have decided we should be called."

"And who put you in charge?" Harry asked with an amused grin.

"I did, so there," Sirius replied cheekily. "I think we should start by going round the table and each of us giving a report on how they felt the first week has gone and what they think we can do to improve things. Ladies first, Miss Weasley."

"I think we've achieved a lot in our first week," Ginny confirmed. "It was really good to have Remus over for those couple of days. I know we all have our strengths and weaknesses, but you could see how having a proper teacher involved helped the proceedings. Will he be here this weekend?"

"No, Dumbledore has asked him to do a little job for him," Sirius explained. "He won't be back until next week."

"Remus won't say anything about our training to Dumbledore, will he?" she asked in concern.

"No, we made Remus take an Unbreakable Vow just like I did," Sirius assured her. "I think we should ask anyone who gets involved to do the same."

"Good idea," Ginny said approvingly. "I think between you and Remus's knowledge and experience, and my access to Tom's memories, we have most practical subjects covered. Drawing up a training schedule was a good idea and gives us more structure. The only thing lacking at present is an Occlumency teacher and perhaps someone half-decent with Potions."

"I have good news on the Occlumency front," Sirius declared. "I think I've managed to track down an accredited teacher in the art and I'll be meeting with her next week. Apparently, she makes a habit of only working for old, establish families and is very discrete. Not sure about a Potions teacher, though. Do you really think you'll need that?"

"I desperately need some help in the subject," Harry said mournfully. "I've barely learnt a thing from Snape."

"Me, neither," Ginny agreed, "and surprisingly Tom was only average at the subject."

"Potion Masters are worth their weight in gold," Sirius mused. "I suspect it's one of the reasons Dumbledore hasn't wanted to antagonise Snape over the years; he'd be too bloody difficult to replace. We'll probably have to muddle along by ourselves with that one."

"Oh, well. The Occlumency instructor was by far the priority, anyway," Ginny decided. "But apart from that, I don't have a lot more to add, other than if Harry keeps improving his duelling skills like he has been this week we won't stand a chance against him by the end of the summer."

Harry blushed, but Ginny wasn't just trying to butter-up her boyfriend. While Sirius and Remus obviously had far more education and experience, and she had the knowledge of a sixteen-year-old Dark Lord to draw from, none of them had the instincts and raw power of Harry. That he had come so far since October was a testament to what enormous potential he had. If only Dumbledore had actually treated his earlier education seriously!

"I quite agree, Ginny," Sirius said proudly. "In fact, we may need to think about getting more experienced duellers in to face Harry before the summer is out. I'm rusty as hell and Remus was never the greatest dueller in the world. Surprisingly for a werewolf, he was never really aggressive enough. Still, it's something to think about. We might need to draft in Moody or Tonks at some stage."

"Tonks would be my choice," Harry confirmed. "Moody is just a bit too close to Dumbledore and I doubt he'd agree to make an Unbreakable Vow."

"Good point," Sirius agreed. "Anyway, Harry, your turn to speak."

"Err, I don't really have anything to add," Harry said awkwardly. "I think the training has gone brilliantly, actually, and I've really enjoyed it. The only other thing I want to ask is when we're going to start working on finding Voldemort's Horcruxes?"

"We haven't really done anything about the Horcrux issue yet, have we?" Ginny pondered. "I suggest we make some time next week to draw up a list of potential items Voldemort might have used and where they might be hidden. Hopefully, with him failing to regain his body and being reduced to a wraith-like form again, we should have plenty of time to deal with them."

"Possibly, but it's not something I want to put off," Sirius mused. "The chances are that this will be by far the most difficult problem we are facing and it will take a lot of time and effort to solve. The sooner we get started the better, I say."

"I agree," Harry said firmly. "We should use whatever time we gained by stopping the Resurrection Ritual to hunt down these things."

"Fair enough," Ginny conceded, "although I feel that Occlumency training is our first priority. So, Sirius, what was your impression of our first week's training?"

"As far as it goes, I think the week has gone splendidly," Sirius replied thoughtfully.

"What do you mean, 'as far as it goes'?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Well, I can't help but feel that we should be a bit more proactive," he explained. "Don't get me wrong, this training is exactly the sort of thing Harry should have started ages ago. He should have been home schooled by the finest teachers available, if Dumbledore hadn't had his head stuck up his own arse. But is strikes me that while we are stuck here training, our enemies are digging in and getting stronger. I think we need to take steps to improve our position and make sure we aren't caught by surprise."

"What sort of thing had you in mind?" Ginny asked, intrigued by the older man's suggestion.

"Firstly, we need information," Sirius declared. "We need to know what's happening amongst our foes. And I don't just mean the Death Eaters, either. Dumbledore recently asked me to re-join a group he's formed called the Order of the Phoenix. They were originally active during the first war against Voldemort and Albus feels that they need to be reformed in anticipation of the Dark Lord's return. While I declined to join, I think we need someone on the inside to report on what they are doing."

"Is that possible?" Harry asked. "Won't Dumbledore demand an Oath from all the members like we've done?"

"I doubt it," Sirius replied in amusement. "He certainly didn't the first time round, which was a shame as Peter Pettigrew was a member. Dumbledore would have saved us all a lot of pain and grief if he'd taken that simple precaution. No, I think he'll just take people on trust and I'm fairly convinced he'll ask Tonks to join."

"Do you think she'll help us?" Ginny asked eagerly.

"I've been sounding her out over the last few days and I think she'll be up for it. She's very impressed with young Harry here and appears to have a lot of doubts about Dumbledore's handling of things. Besides, she's family and blood is thicker than water," he grinned.

"Great!" Harry exclaimed.

"We also need ears in the Ministry," Sirius continued. "I did initially think of your dad, Ginny, but I fear he would be too loyal to Dumbledore. While I have a few low-level contacts, we need someone closer to Fudge."

"I might have an idea about that," Ginny piped up, "but I'll need to give it some thought. Let me come back to you on that one."

"I'll leave that in your hands," Sirius smiled. "The real problem will be finding a spy within Voldemort's forces. I suspect we will have to end up either threatening or blackmailing someone to pass information, and that's always risky."

"That's another reason why Dumbledore is so accommodating to Snape," Ginny reasoned. "He's too valuable as a spy."

"True, but I don't think there's much point on us asking him to act for us, eh? As I recall, the last time Severus and I were together he was trying to get me Kissed by a Dementor."

"Yeah, greasy bastard," Harry snarled.

"Anyway, I think that wraps it up for this morning. We'll review our plans again next weekend to see what ideas we can come up with," Sirius announced. "Right, as we have no Remus to help us, I suggest we train until about five-ish, and then we all go out to a rather nice Muggle restaurant I've discovered for dinner."

"That sounds good to me," Ginny said, genuinely pleased at the prospect of being taken out for a meal.

"Excellent. I thought we should push the boat out on account of the lovely Miss Weasley here staying for weekend. Just remember you two, I'll be expecting you to be in your own beds by midnight and I will be checking," Sirius said sternly.

Harry stared at him in disbelief. "Sirius, did you just set us a curfew?" he asked.

"Yes, I did, and I expect it kept to," he said waggling his finger and trying to look intimidating. The effect lasted for about three seconds.

"Oh, damn it! This isn't fair," he moaned. "I'm Sirius Black: Marauder and born trouble maker! I'm not supposed to be the one setting rules. It goes against my very nature."

"Then don't set any rules," Harry said in amusement. "You can trust Ginny and me."

"I trust no teenage boy left alone with a pretty young girl, not even you, Harry," Sirius replied. "Besides, I keep having this vision of Lily glaring at me in disapproval. I'm sorry, my boy, but I'm not risking her displeasure when I finally meet her again on the other side. You will behave and I want you both tucked up in your own beds before twelve, got that?"

"I promise," Harry said in a resigned voice.

"Me, too," Ginny said in amusement, before suddenly jumping in the air. Sirius had banged his fist down on the kitchen table without any warning, startling both of them.

"What's the matter?" Harry asked in alarm.

"Oh, sorry kids, there was a big, ugly bug crawling across the table. Awwweee, it's all over my hand. Bugger, I've left my wand in the training room. I'll just scrape it off into the bin."

Ginny giggled as she watched Sirius's increasingly frantic efforts to get all of the squashed bug from his hand. She did sympathise with him about having to set rules, however. Living with her mother had given her an aversion to strict disciplinarians.

Still, what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him, right?


	3. Chapter 3 – A Path of His Own Making

**Chapter 3 – A Path of His Own Making**

AN

I must confess that when I posted Chapter 2 I had been expecting lots of comments regarding Ginny's proposed Soul Bond. Instead, everyone seems to have picked up on the squashed bug bit at the end. Just shows you what I know!

Anyhow, Chapter 3. I've probably taken a few liberties with the Vanishing Spell, but I reasoned that if in canon McGonagall had fifth year students practicing it you probably can't permanently Vanish a living being. After all, one slip of a wand and oops! I've slightly extended that to include all organic material. Oh, I also decided that if someone is killed in their Animagus form, they retain that state for a short while before they revert back to their human form. We also get one of my rarely seen original spells in Ginny's practise duel. I don't normally like using non-canon spells, but as the 'Fortress Mind' spell makes a reappearance from TR1, I figured throwing another new one in wouldn't hurt.

As always, huge thanks to Arnel for her beta duties. Next time I promise I won't do my final proof read late at night when I'm on the verge of a cold.

* * *

Ginny held her breath as she inched forward, her wand held warily in front of her. She was barefoot, so she barely made a sound as she cautiously made her way across the wooden floor. Her ears strained for the slightest sound of movement, but everything was quiet. So far, so good.

Muttering the incantation as quietly as she could, she cast a Detection Spell on the door in front of her. As she suspected, an Alarm Charm had been cast on it. She smiled triumphantly as she Dispelled the charm; as if she would have fallen for something so obvious.

The grin vanished from her face as quickly as it had appeared: it was too obvious! Quickly, she dropped to her knees and surveyed the floor in front of her. There! Strung across the doorframe was a thin tripwire, no doubt attached to something unpleasant. Living with the twins for years had given Ginny an instinct about these things and she was glad to see she hadn't lost her edge.

Deciding it would be easier just to leave the trap in place, she stood and reached for the doorknob. Turning it with agonising slowness, she pushed the door open as gently as she could. She was relieved that the door didn't creak once as it opened. Stepping carefully over the tripwire, she entered the room.

Although her eyes were by now well-adjusted to the darkness, the heavy curtains that hung over the windows meant the room was nearly pitch black. Edging forward, she deliberately didn't look directly at the object she was heading for. Peripheral sight always gave superior night vision and that was another trick she had learnt during her nocturnal wanderings around the Burrow.

Soon, she had reached her destination and she carefully extended a hand so she could feel her way. Her fingers soon encountered the soft material of a light blanket. She ran her hand along the surface of the blanket until she reached the edge. Cautiously, she pulled it back and lightly sat in the spot she had just exposed.

"What the…" a voice began loudly.

"Shush! It's me!" she hissed.

"Ginny?" the voice murmured. "What are you doing here?"

"Getting into bed with you, silly," she explained and swung her legs up and under the covers. She immediately felt the bed shift underneath her and assumed Harry had moved over to allow her room. Pulling the blanket over herself, she reached out until her arms encountered her boyfriend. She immediately snuggled up against him.

"Ginny, what are you doing?" Harry said in a slightly panicky whisper. "Sirius will kill me if he finds you in here. We promised him we'd stay in our own beds!"

"We promised him we'd be in our own beds at midnight," Ginny corrected him, "and we were. However, it's now at least half-past twelve so those restrictions no long apply."

She heard Harry snigger quietly in the darkness. Deciding they had wasted enough time talking, she ran her hands up his chest and over his shoulders. She snaked one hand through his hair, and using that as a guide, she was quickly able to pull his lips onto hers. He eagerly returned the kiss and slid his arms around her. They continued in this manner blissfully for a few minutes until Harry broke away.

"Err, Ginny, um, exactly how far is this going to go? I mean, you're in my bed and, well, I…" he mumbled awkwardly.

"Easy, tiger," she giggled. "I'm not ready to go too far at the moment. My knickers are staying on tonight, okay?"

"Okay," he replied with an odd mix of disappointment and relief.

"Don't worry, we can still have plenty of fun," she assured him, running one hand up and down his bare chest.

"I like having fun," he growled. The note of desire in his voice sent a shiver down her spine and a strange aching sparked in her loins. She felt his rough fingers slipping under her t-shirt and his hot breath on her neck. She trembled with excitement as Harry discovered she wasn't wearing anything under her shirt.

Pulling his head towards her, she passionately kissed him, their tongues locked in a frantic, erotic dance of their own. Their young bodies pressed against each other and Ginny could feel just how stimulated her boyfriend was.

It was some considerable time before sleep claimed them.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Wakefulness came slowly to Ginny. The first thing she became aware of was that she was toasty-warm and extremely comfortable. Shifting slightly, she felt Harry's body pressed up against her and she realised his arm was draped over her stomach protectively. She sighed contentedly and closed her eyes, intent on getting some more sleep.

That idea was rudely interrupted by a terrifying scream. Ginny sat bolt-upright and looked around in confusion. A second later, a further scream echoed about the house and she realised the sound was coming from somewhere downstairs.

She was only just reaching for her wand when Harry flung open the bedroom door. While she had been gazing around, still half-asleep, he had grabbed his own wand and leapt into action. That was Harry, alright: always good in a crisis. Ginny rolled out of bed and hurried after him. Almost absently, she noticed that the tripwire she had found last night appeared to be gone. Sirius had obviously conjured the trap in such a way that it would vanish after a set period of time. She made a note to ask him how he had done it; that would be a marvellous tool for pranking the twins.

Forcing her mind back onto more pressing matters, she pelted down the stairs after Harry. A cry from behind her made her look around. Sirius was simultaneously trying to run down the stairs after them and tie-up his blue, silk dressing gown. The sight of him trying to dress himself made Ginny aware that she was just dressed in her knickers and a t-shirt. Harry, who had now reached the bottom of the staircase, was just dressed in his boxer shorts. She had a moment of panic when she realised that if Death Eaters had managed to get into the house she would have to fight them in her underwear.

Cursing herself for such idiotic thoughts, she sprinted after her boyfriend, leaping the last few steps in an effort to catch up with him. Ahead, she saw him turn down the narrow passageway that led to the kitchen. She ran as fast as she could after him, gripping the corner of the wall to help her turn sharply. She sprinted down the short passageway and through the kitchen door… and promptly ran straight into the back of Harry who was standing just a few feet beyond the entrance.

"Ouch!" she moaned as she literally bounced off him and fell on her backside. Harry reached down and offered her a hand to help her get back up. She accepted it and stood on shaky legs, trying to get her bearings. A second later, she again found herself flat on the floor, this time with Harry sprawled out beside her. Sirius had come barrelling into the kitchen and knocked both of them off their feet.

Groaning in pain, Ginny gingerly managed to lift herself onto her hands and knees. Harry had rolled onto his side and was glaring up at his godfather in anger. Unfortunately, Sirius was oblivious to Harry's displeasure. He was standing with his mouth open, staring at something which had made his eyes bulge.

"What the f…" Sirius's voice trailed off as he continued to stare.

Ginny climbed to her feet and looked over to see what had captured Sirius's attention. The first thing she saw was Dobby, standing at one end of the kitchen, with a horrified expression on his face. The little elf was wailing at the top of his voice and was clearly the source of the hideous scream she had heard earlier. Then, she noticed what had upset him so much.

Positioned next to the door to the pantry was the kitchen bin. It was a reasonably large, metal affair, which Dobby had previously polished until it positively shined. What was so distressing about the bin at the moment was that it had a human leg poking out the top of it.

Harry, Ginny and Sirius all moved cautiously forward, matching expressions of disbelief on their faces.

"There's being a lady in the bin! There's being a lady in the bin!" Dobby wailed loudly.

"Err, we can see that, Dobby," Harry assured him. "The question is why is there being a lady in the bin?"

The three of them stood and looked at each other in confusion.

Ten minutes later, the trio were sitting on kitchen chairs, still looking warily at the bin. None of them had yet had the courage to approach it. They had sent Dobby to have a nice lie down somewhere, as the little elf's nerves appeared to have been shot. He clearly hadn't been expecting to find body-parts in his nice clean kitchen.

"So, what do you think?" Harry said eventually, breaking the silence.

"I think there's a woman's leg sticking out of the bin," Sirius replied, somewhat unhelpfully.

"But who's leg?" Ginny demanded. The leg itself gave no clues. It was clad in ripped, nylon tights and had a viciously heeled, green shoe perched on the end of it.

"That's the question, isn't it?" Sirius replied blankly.

"Do you… do you think we'd better take a look?" Harry asked, sounding decidedly unenthusiastic.

Sirius sighed. "Okay, I guess I'm in charge here, so I'd better do it."

He stood and slowly approached the bin. With the greatest reluctance, he looked inside.

"Oh, shit!" he bellowed and sprinted to the fortunately nearby kitchen sink. He was noisily sick into it.

"That's not a good sign," Harry commented, watching his godfather emptying the contents of his stomach in revulsion.

"You think?" Ginny replied in disbelief. Hesitantly, she stood and approached the bin herself.

"Ginny!" Harry called in alarm, but she waved him away. Taking a deep breath, she looked into the bin.

"Bugger! Make room, Sirius," she shouted before virtually knocking the older man out the way to gain access to the sink.

"Guess it's up to me," she heard Harry state after she had finished regurgitating the remains of her previous night's dinner. Wiping her mouth, she turned and watched her boyfriend as he approached the bin.

As it turned out, Harry had the strongest stomach of the three of them. He turned an alarming shade of green as he looked inside the metal container, but made no effort to join them at the sink. He did look up with a sickly expression on his face, however.

"Sirius, can you throw me the rubber gloves from underneath the sink, please?" he asked.

With a look of disgust on his face, Sirius reached under the sink and retrieved a pair of bright yellow rubber gloves and threw them to Harry. With a resigned sigh, Harry put the gloves on. He then lowered his hand into the bin, looking like he would rather have stuck his hand into a snake pit. He rummaged around for a moment, before he gasped in surprise.

"Rita Skeeter! It's bloody Rita Skeeter," he exclaimed in horror.

"Are you sure?" Sirius asked. "How can you tell?"

"Because I'm holding her bloody head, you moron!" Harry spat back.

"I'm surprised you can recognise it," Ginny commented.

"It's in one piece," Harry explained. "Mostly, anyway."

He dropped the unseen body part and backed away. He walked over to the sink and removed the blood-stained gloves, which he threw into it, before using his wand to Vanish them. He then grabbed a nearby glass and poured himself a drink of water.

"Okay, we have the nastiest journalist in the country in small bits in a bin in our kitchen," Harry summarised. "Any suggestions how?"

"Do you think someone killed her and dumped the body here?" Ginny speculated.

"Impossible," Sirius snorted. "Knowing Harry was coming to live here, I went a bit overboard on the protective wards around this place. No one could have got in here without me knowing."

"Not even a skilled curse-breaker?" Ginny challenged. "Bill could get into just about anywhere."

"No, as head of the House of Black, I can place near unbreakable restrictions on access to this house. Apart from you two, I've only added Remus, Tonks and Molly to the access list, so far. I can't really see any of that lot butchering Ms Skeeter here, can you?"

"Dunno, my mum was pretty pissed off at her after that last article," Ginny mused. "She's pretty scary when she's in a temper is my mum."

"Ginny!" Harry protested. "Your mum would not have killed and dismembered Skeeter!"

"Nah, I'm only joking," Ginny admitted. "But it still leaves us the problem of how Rita got here."

"Are you sure no one could get through the wards?" Harry asked. "I mean, would they keep a non-human out? Could a goblin or something get in?"

"No, the wards would detect… oh, bugger. I've just realised how she got here," Sirius said in a sick voice.

"How?" Harry and Ginny demanded simultaneously.

"I'm an Animagus, right? Well, one of the advantages of being one is that you get a kind of sixth sense about when other Animagi are near. I was always convinced McGonagall knew exactly what James, Peter and I were up to at Hogwarts. Anyway, remember I squashed that ugly-looking beetle last night? Now I think about it, I swatted it before I even consciously realised what it was. I instinctively knew it was there," Sirius explained.

"Oh Merlin, and you scraped it off into that bin!" Ginny realise in shock.

"I just murdered Rita Skeeter!" Sirius moaned in despair. "I've only just got out of Azkaban and now I'm going back!"

"It wasn't your fault!" Ginny assured him. "How were you to know Skeeter was an Animagus? Come to think of it, she must have been an unregistered one. It certainly explains how she managed to get all those news scoops. But no one would send you to Azkaban for an accident like that."

"Don't kid yourself, my dear girl," he replied mournfully. "There were a lot of people very upset that I was pardoned and will be itching to get me locked up again. Lucius Malfoy in particular was furious I was freed. He'd been hoping that his wife would inherit the Black fortune and he'll do anything to get me behind bars again."

"Then we simply keep this quiet," Harry declared purposely. "If Skeeter was an illegal Animagus then the chances of her telling anyone she was coming here are slim. Besides, apart from us three, who knows she even managed to get into the house? We'll dispose of the body, and no one will be any the wiser."

"Are you serious?" Sirius asked in amazement. "You're really suggesting we just cover this whole thing up?"

"If it keeps you out of Azkaban, yes. Besides, I wouldn't put it past Malfoy to implicate me in this. I say we don't give him the ammunition to slander us in the first place," Harry replied.

"Okay, say we do this: how do we get rid of the body? We can't just Vanish it, that doesn't work permanently for organic material and I don't fancy having her remains suddenly reappear just as we're having dinner. Even Transfiguring her into something and burning it will leave a magical signature. I'd rather not risk that," Sirius deliberated.

"I know the perfect place to dump the body. One where it will be disposed of for good," Harry said.

"Wait, you, a fourteen-year-old boy, knows the 'perfect' place to dispose of a body? Would you care to elaborate on that for me?" Sirius demanded, his eyes narrowing.

"I'm nearly fifteen," Harry said defensively.

"Your bloody age doesn't matter! How do you know about disposing of bodies?" Sirius snapped.

"Err, well, do you remember I was telling you about my second year at Hogwarts? After Hermione got Petrified, Ron and I were trying to discover what had caused it and Hagrid told us to follow the spiders. Do you remember what we found when we followed a trail of spider into the Forbidden Forrest?"

"Yes, you said that… blimey! Acromantulas! There's a nest of them in the Forbidden Forest, isn't there? You're absolutely right; if we dump Skeeter's body there it will be gone in five minutes. What a great idea! But how on earth do you think of that?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, I remembered Ron and I made a joke about it being a good place to hide a body at the time," Harry lied.

"Okay, that's a twisted sense of humour you have there, but I'm not complaining. We'll take the body there as soon as it gets dark," Sirius said, relief evident on his face.

"Hold on," Ginny piped up. "Will we be able to enter the grounds of Hogwarts without the Headmaster knowing? I mean, he might be a bit curious as to why we're tromping around the school during the holidays."

"Damn, didn't think of that," Sirius cursed. "He knows when anyone enters the school grounds; the wards will alert him immediately. Still, we can enter the forest via another route. It's longer, but it avoids entering the school grounds completely."

"Sorry, I wouldn't have a clue how to find the Acromantulas' nest unless I follow the route I took before," Harry apologised.

"Fair enough," Sirius acknowledged. "I'm actually quite proud that you know your way around the forest, at all. The Marauders only ever entered the place in animal form. Okay, how about this. I did promise that I would visit Dumbledore in the near future; I get the impression he wanted to talk about you, Harry. Why don't I visit him with you two in tow? I'll go up to his office and say that you decided to make use of the Quidditch pitch while we were there. Dumbledore will be happy because I suspect he wanted to talk about Harry without him being there, and you'll have time to dispose of the body."

"Brilliant, but with one modification," Ginny added. "Dumbledore is less likely to randomly try Legilimency on you than Snape would be, but we can't rule it out. I'll cast the Fortress Mind spell on you just before you go up to his office. At very worst he'll know you're hiding something, but won't be able to find out what."

"We really need to crack on with learning Occlumency," Harry pointed out.

"I'm interviewing the prospective teacher on Monday," Sirius confirmed. "I'm starting to understand why this is such a priority for you. Right, as there is no need for darkness we might as well take care of this now. Perhaps it might be advisable if you two get dressed first, though."

"Oh, yes, good idea," Harry mumbled in embarrassment.

They had just started to head for the door when Sirius called to them.

"Oh, by the way, Ginny? Nice work avoiding two of the alarms I put on Harry's bedroom door. Shame you never noticed the third one," he smirked.

"Sneaky git," Ginny muttered as she pushed a mortified Harry out the door.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Just over an hour later, Harry and Ginny were picking their way through the Forbidden Forest. Harry was Levitating the rubbish bin in front of him as they felt it would be easier, not to mention far less messy, if they left Skeeter's remains in it. He'd removed his Invisibility Cloak which he'd previously draped over the bin to hide it from unwelcome eyes, and it was now happily bobbing along a couple of yards in front of them.

"We're starting to make a habit of this," Ginny noted as they walked along the narrow forest path.

"I don't think doing something twice constitutes a habit," Harry disagreed.

Silence fell for a while.

"Do you think we should be more upset about this then we actually are?" Harry asked eventually. "I mean, we were both horrified when we accidently killed Nott, but neither of us seem that bothered about Skeeter."

"I don't know, Harry," Ginny replied thoughtfully. "Maybe it's because Sirius was the one who did the deed. Besides, I know the circumstances were not dissimilar to Nott, but if you choose to spy on people disguised as a bug you shouldn't be too surprised if you end up getting squashed."

"Yeah, perhaps," Harry acknowledged. "Skeeter was a pretty awful person, too. I mean, Nott wasn't particularly nice, either, but he was still just a kid. Rita Skeeter was a vile woman who delighted in causing trouble. I don't know how she got away with all her lies."

"People like to believe the worst of others." Ginny shrugged. "Skeeter wouldn't have gotten away with it if people didn't want to read that stuff. At least she won't be printing anymore bollocks about us."

"Yeah, but that kind of makes me worried," he replied. "You don't suppose we're not bothered about her dying because we're just glad she won't write any more stories about us? That makes us pretty nasty people, doesn't it?"

"No, I don't think so," Ginny argued. "It's not like any of us were actually trying to kill her. It was an accident, pure and simple. If the Wizarding world was a fair and honest place we wouldn't have to hide what happened, but it's not. I didn't want Skeeter dead, and I'm sorry it happened, but I can't feel guilty for something that the woman brought upon herself."

"You're probably right," Harry sighed. "Look, that's the spiders nest up ahead. We're almost there."

"It's a lot less scary doing this in daylight," Ginny noted.

"Yeah, less chance of running straight into Aragog, as well," he agreed. "Okay, I'm going to upend the bin just over there. You might want to look away."

"Good plan," Ginny agreed and quickly turned her back. A few seconds later she found herself gagging as she heard a revolting sucking sound that was followed by a dull thump of something hitting the ground.

"Don't turn around yet, Ginny," Harry advised. "I'm having to shake the bin up and down. Some bits are stuck to the bottom."

"Lovely," Ginny said, feeling glad she hadn't had breakfast yet.

"Nearly got it. Hold on, I'll just rinse it out. _Aguamenti!_" he called out. "Right, that's all of it… err, I mean her. I'm alright to Vanish the bin now, aren't I?"

"You should be, if you don't want it anymore," Ginny confirmed.

"You really think we'd still want it in the house?" he snorted. _"Evanesco!"_

Harry had no sooner Vanished the metal bin when an eerie chittering sound started coming from the undergrowth around them. Harry grabbed Ginny's hand and they rapidly headed back the way they came. The smell of fresh meat was obviously bringing the Acromantulas out from their nests. They made their way back in silence, their hands clasped tightly together. They were nearly to the forest's edge when Harry broke the silence.

"You know, I've just thought of something. When I met Aragog here back in my second year, he knew that the Slytherin's monster was a basilisk. He called it the thing that spiders fear the most," he pondered.

"Yeah, so?" Ginny asked.

"Well, as horrible as he is, Aragog cares about Hagrid. Don't you think he would have told Hagrid what the monster was?"

Ginny stopped short. "I think it's quite possible. But don't you think Hagrid would have told someone if he knew? I mean, it's not like he's one to keep secrets now, is it?"

"Maybe he did tell someone," Harry speculated. "Maybe he told someone he respected and trusted above all others?"

"Dumbledore?" Ginny exclaimed. "Are you telling me that sneaky old bastard knew it was a basilisk running around the school and did nothing about it? Harry, I was bloody lucky no one was killed when I released it! If someone had died, I would never have lived with myself. And he… he… he knew! The miserable sodding git!"

"Easy, Gin," Harry said comfortingly, taking her into his arms. "We don't know for certain. This is just me guessing. Maybe Aragog never said anything. But still, I think we need to look into this when we go back to school in September."

"I agree," she replied angrily. "You know, I'm starting to wonder exactly what else Albus bloody Dumbledore has been keeping secret."

"Me, too, Ginny," Harry replied in a distant voice, "me, too."

Swallowing her anger, Ginny rubbed her boyfriend's arm supportively.

"Never mind," she told him. "We'll deal with this later. I know what we need to do to cheer us both up."

Harry smirked suggestively. "Really? What did you have in mind?"

"Not what you have in mind, obviously," she giggled, giving him a playful push. "What I meant was that we left our brooms over by the Quidditch pitch! Let's do some flying."

"Okay, that's good, too," Harry admitted, looking slightly shame-faced.

"I don't know," Ginny said in mock exasperation. "I couldn't get you to kiss me all of last term, and now you've turned into a sex maniac."

"Sex maniac?" Harry protested mildly. "Besides, just which of us crept into the other's bed last night?"

"Oh, don't you want me to do that anymore?" Ginny teased.

"I didn't say that," Harry replied loftily.

Ginny snorted with laughter. "Come on, Potter. I bet I can outfly you, Firebolt or no Firebolt."

"In your dreams, Weasley," Harry chuckled. "You'll be eating my dust."

They raced back to the Quidditch pitch and reclaimed the brooms they had left there earlier. It was a rare treat to have the entire pitch to themselves and they made the most of it. They started with a series of gentle aerial manoeuvres before moving onto more daring dives and turns. Several times Harry yelled his amazement at Ginny's skill and she couldn't help but feel rather smug about his apparent surprise. Still, if Harry was shocked by her abilities, her brothers were going to have a fit when they saw her fly.

Their formation flying soon dissolved into a game of aerial tag which involved some extremely dangerous manoeuvres, a few snatched kisses here and there, and a great deal of laughter. If Ginny had thought about it, she would have realised that she had been right earlier. Flying was the perfect way perfect way to cheer themselves up. As soon as they had mounted their brooms all thoughts of the grizzly task that they had performed earlier vanished from their minds.

Their fun was interrupted by a shout from below. Looking down, Ginny saw Sirius standing in the middle of the pitch waving his arms at them wildly. Initially, she was surprised to see him there so soon, but when she glanced at her watch she realised that they had been flying for over an hour. Time really did fly when you were having fun.

Pushing her broom into a gentle dive, she landed smoothly next to Sirius and was followed a second later by Harry. Her boyfriend was looking windswept but had a massive grin on his face.

"That was some pretty impressive flying up there," Sirius told them as they dismounted. "I knew you were hot stuff, Harry, but I had no idea your girlfriend here was as talented as you."

"Neither did I!" Harry exclaimed. "You were brilliant, Ginny. You have to try out for the Gryffindor team next term."

Ginny shrugged. "I'm really only interested in being a Chaser and those places are pretty tied up at the moment."

"Yeah, but you're sure to bag a reserve place," Harry argued. "Besides, this will be Angelina's and Alica's last year. Once they're gone, I bet you'll walk into a starting slot."

"I agree," Sirius interrupted, "but as much as I hate to break up this little party, I think we need to get out of here sharpish."

"Why?" Harry asked, looking a little concerned.

"Let's just say my conversation with Dumbledore didn't go too smoothly. I think we should leave before he gets it into his head to come down here and talk to you personally, Harry."

"What did that old coot say?" Ginny demanded, her temper rising.

"I'll tell you back at Grimmauld Place," Sirius insisted. "Come on, let's go."

Quickly, they made their way off the grounds of the school and back to Hogsmeade so they could head home.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Once they made it back to Grimmauld Place, Sirius immediately collapsed into a chair and called for Dobby.

"Dobby, my dear fellow, would you be so kind as to fetch me a large glass of Firewhisky? I'm definitely in need of a pick-me-up."

"Right away, Master Black, sirs!" Dobby responded enthusiastically and within ten seconds Sirius had his requested drink in his hands. He took a large gulp before sinking back into his chair in relief.

"Firewhisky so early in the day?" Harry noted disapprovingly. "You always tell me that a gentleman never breaks out the hard liquor until after dinner."

"Who ever said I was a gentleman?" Sirius grinned. "Besides, after listening to Dumbledore berate me for an hour and a half I need a stiff drink."

"Just exactly was Dumbledore saying to you?" Ginny demanded.

"Oh, he was telling me how irresponsible I was being by not making Harry return to the Dursleys," Sirius snorted. "Apparently, that's the ONLY place Harry is safe."

"I don't get it," Harry said angrily. "Why is the old goat so obsessed with me going back there? I can almost understand him wanting me to grow up in the Muggle world, but why does he want me to go back now?"

"I have an idea about that," Ginny mused. "I think it's all down to the Headmaster's precious Blood Wards."

"But I have Blood Wards around this place, too," Sirius objected, "and they're only a small part of the protections this building has. Besides, nothing can beat a well-cast Fidelius Charm as long as you're careful about your Secret-Keeper."

"Yes, but the protections around Privet Drive were linked to Potter blood, and think what those protections did to Voldemort before," Ginny argued. "I suspect that Dumbledore believes that because of the protection Lily Potter put on Harry, the wards at his aunt's house would be deadly to Tom. They wouldn't kill him, of course, not with the Horcruxes still about, but they could well reduce him back to being a wraith."

"But he's a wraith now!" Harry spat. "Those wards will be useless in a couple of years anyway, so why make me suffer when there's no need?"

"I assume Dumbledore just wants the reassurance that there's a totally safe place he can stash you safely if needed," Ginny noted sadly.

"And that's worth me being beaten, starved and abused, is it?" Harry shouted. "What bloody use is it protecting me from Voldemort if I'm at just as much risk from my bloody relatives?"

Ginny and Sirius exchanged worried glances. Harry never talked about his time with the Dursleys and always brushed off any questions about his treatment there. Ginny was beginning to suspect that things were a lot worse than any of them suspected.

"It's alright, Harry," Sirius said soothingly, "we agree with you. There's no way that I'd ever let you be sent back there."

The anger seemed to drain out of Harry instantly and he appeared to fold in on himself. Ginny guessed that he felt he'd revealed too much.

"Ah, sorry," he mumbled. "I didn't mean to have a go at you. I was just angry at Dumbledore, that's all."

"That's understandable," Sirius assured him. "Let's forget about it. Look, we all need to blow off a bit of steam. Why don't we have an hour or so of Duelling practice before dinner?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Harry agreed, his face expressionless.

Ginny looked at her boyfriend anxiously. Trying to get him to open up now would be impossible. When Harry set his mind to something he was the most stubborn person in the world. She would, however, watch him carefully for any clues as to what he'd been forced to go through.

And, Merlin help her, if it turned out the Dursleys had hurt him she would make them suffer.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"Here are my credentials. You will find them perfectly in order," the woman declared in stern voice, a faint German accent evident in her speech.

"Umm, thank you, Frau Hagen," Sirius replied uncertainly.

"Please, I have been in this country many years now and prefer to be referred to as Madam Hagen," the woman instructed him. "Besides, it would be Fraulein, not Frau."

"Oh, my apologies," Sirius said hastily and quickly busied himself inspecting the thick wad of parchment Madam Hagen had presented him with.

Ginny regarded her new Occlumency teacher with something approaching awe. Madam Hagen was a tall woman with pale blond hair which was currently tied back in a rather severe bun. She wore a pristine skirt suit in a rather stark grey colour, the jacket of which was struggling to contain a bosom that could have felled a full grown troll if swung correctly. The totalitarian look was completed by a pair of black-rimmed glasses that were perched on her nose in such a way as to permit her to glare at people over them. She probably was in her mid-thirties, but it was rather difficult to tell. All in all, Madam Hagen was an intimidating sight.

"Well, everything seems to be in order," Sirius said, looking up from the parchment. "I do have some questions about confidentiality, however."

"I am a fully accredited Occlumens, Mr Black, and as such can be relied upon for complete discretion. If you so choose, however, I am willing to enter into a magically-binding contract that any information I inadvertently become privy to will not be disclosed to any third-party. Do we have an agreement?" she demanded.

"What? Oh, yes, I suppose," Sirius stuttered, clearly unnerved by the woman. "Shouldn't we discuss your salary first, though?"

"My tariff is included on the first page of my documentation," she replied, glaring at Sirius in disapproval. "It is not negotiable."

Sirius fumbled with the parchment until he found the correct sheet. "Ah, yes, here it is. Um, my word, that's more than I was expecting, but still, trained Occlumens don't grow on trees, do they?"

Madam Hagen stared at him like he was something she was going to have to scrape off her shoe.

"Yes, well, we appear to have a deal," Sirius said quickly. He looked like he was on the verge of running from the room screaming.

"Excellent, I will forward the contract for your signature tomorrow," Hagen informed him. "These children, they are to be my pupils, yes?"

Madam Hagen looked sternly first at Ginny before she turned her attention to Harry, who was sitting next to Ginny on the sofa. Ginny turned to look at her boyfriend, who appeared to be starting to panic in much the same way as his godfather.

"Yes, this is my godson, Harry, and his girlfriend, Ginny," Sirius explained hastily. "I'm sure you've heard plenty about Harry before."

"I do not read the newspapers," Madam Hagen snapped.

"Err, Harry is world famous," Sirius said in confusion. "You probably know him as the Boy Who Lived."

"Oh, he's that one, is he?" Madam Hagen said, fixing her gaze firmly on Harry, who by this point appeared to be trying to crawl through a gap in the sofa. "Ah."

Ginny had never heard a two letter word carry so much disapproval in her life.

"If you could make sure the contract is signed and returned immediately, Mr Black, it would be most appreciated. I can't abide tardiness," Madam Hagen informed Sirius as she stood. Ginny could hear Harry sigh in relief as the woman's penetrating gaze shifted off of him.

"Of course, of course," Sirius assured her. "And when will we commence lessons?"

"A week today," she replied. "I will be here at nine o'clock sharp. Please ensure there is a suitable training area available."

"Naturally," Sirius agreed, nodding like Padfoot being offered a juicy steak. "Let me show you out."

Ginny watched the woman's retreating form. There was definitely something Valkyrie-ish about Madam Hagen, she decided. Ginny tried to imagine her with a winged-helmet, burnished breastplate and spear. The image fit her perfectly.

"Bloody Nora!" Harry exclaimed as soon as they were out of ear-shot. "That woman's going to be our teacher? She's like Professor McGonagall crossed with an East German shot-putter!"

"Shot-whater?" Ginny asked.

"Err, never mind. It's a Muggle thing," Harry explained. "So, what do you think?"

"I think I'm going to take my Occlumency studies very seriously," Ginny replied. "That is not a woman I want cross with me."

"You're right," Harry agreed. "I've never seen anybody intimidate Sirius like that."

"I wonder if we could recruit her? She'd be enough to scare most of the Death Eaters into surrender just by looking at her," Ginny suggested.

"Yeah, she would at that," Harry said nodding. "And remember, we get to take lessons from her, starting next Monday."

"Whoopee," Ginny said, grimacing.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Gritting her teeth, Ginny rolled to her side and scrambled to her feet. Even as she did so a Stunning Charm flashed past her head, missing her by mere inches.

Not having time to aim properly, she shot a Stunner of her own in the rough direction the spell had come from, more in the hope of buying herself some breathing space than of hitting anything. As soon as the spell left her wand, she started to run. In a duel, movement was your best chance of not getting hit.

It turned out that she had made the right choice, as no sooner had she moved than a bolt of purple light streaked past the spot in which she had just been standing. She was momentarily surprised that she didn't recognise the spell Harry had used; clearly he had been spending some time in the Black family library when she wasn't here.

Twisting, she fired yet another Stunner blindly and sprinted to her left. Realising she was running out of room to manoeuvre and not wanting to be pinned into a corner she halted and threw up a Shield Spell.

Nothing hit it.

Desperately, she scanned the room trying to locate her boyfriend, but there was no sign of him. Cursing, she realised that Harry must have taken the opportunity to cast a Disillusionment Spell on himself. He could be anywhere!

_"Caligo!"_ she cried and a thick mist began to stream out of the end of her wand and rapidly fill the room. Although the mist wasn't dense enough to completely obscure her vision, it would make anyone who was invisible stand out like a sore thumb, particularly if they tried to move.

It was only instinct that saved her. She had been intensely scanning the mist looking for a Harry-shaped hole in the fog when a flash of light in the corner of her eye prompted her to duck. Another Stunner flew past, close enough to make the hairs on top of her head move. How the hell had Harry managed to move so fast?

_"Finite Incantatem!" _she screamed pointing her wand in the direction the spell had come from. This time she got lucky; her spell managed to catch Harry and he instantly became visible, crouching down perhaps fifteen yards to her left. Quickly, she adjusted her aim to try and catch him with a spell before he recovered.

Harry's reactions, however, were superb as always, but his response was unexpected. Rather than trying to cast a spell of his own, he launched himself forward and charged straight at her. For a second Ginny panicked: this was not a recognised duelling tactic! Harry was incredibly fast and in her moment's hesitation he had already closed half the gap between them. Frantically, she fired another Stunner hoping to hit him at point-blank range.

Unfortunately, this was just what Harry had been waiting for. Ginny's spell had barely left her wand before Harry dived forward into a roll and levelling his wand at her.

_"Petrificus Totalus!" _he cried and Ginny felt her body instantly stiffen. For a second, she wobbled and then began to topple forward gracefully. She cringed as she prepared to smash face first into the floor, but Harry managed to scramble forward and grab her before she fell too far. He stood her upright and gently placed a kiss on her nose before cancelling his spell.

"Bravo!" a voice cried out and Ginny looked over to see Sirius, Remus and Tonks clapping and cheering their performance from one side of the room.

"That was bloody brilliant!" Tonks yelled enthusiastically. "You're better than some Auror graduates that I've seen. Fantastic!"

"What did I tell you?" Sirius said smugly. "By the time he's finished, Harry will be the best duellist in the country."

"I believe you," Tonks confirmed, "and not just him. Ginny's pretty hot stuff, too. How did two teenagers get so bloody good?"

"Well, I like to think I've helped a little in that regard," Sirius said, buffing his nails on his shirt.

Ginny blew a loud raspberry. "We've only been training here for a couple of weeks, and what new stuff we have learnt was taught to us by Remus!"

"I've helped!" Sirius protested.

"Indeed, it was very kind of you to repeatedly allow Harry to beat you in duels over the last fortnight," Remus said with a commendably straight face. "I'm sure he learnt a lot from that."

"Why does everyone always pick on me?" Sirius moaned.

"Because you generally deserve it, cousin," Tonks laughed.

"So, what do you think?" Harry asked Tonks. "Will you give Ginny and me extra training?"

"You bet," Tonks grinned at him. "I'm looking forward to it. By the time I'm finished with you pair, you'll be up to Auror standard and probably beyond. You both are naturals; you simply can't teach people to have the reactions that you both showed. Your spell selection was a bit unimaginative, though, and I can show you a few extra tricks to help the speed of your casting and aim, but there's no denying that you two have got talent."

"Great! Thanks, Tonks," Harry gushed. "I can't wait to start!"

"Yeah, this is going to be fantastic," Ginny agreed.

"No problems, you two," Tonks replied. "Besides, it will be nice to spend some time with young people rather than just these two crusty old farts."

"Oi!" Sirius objected and tried to make a grab for Tonks, but she just laughed and danced out of the way. Ginny happened to glance at Remus, however, and noticed that sad expression on his face that Tonk's words seemed to have caused. She filed that titbit away for future thought.

"Right, if you've finished abusing your elders and better, Nymphadora, then I suggest we all head down to the kitchen for some refreshments," Sirius announced. "Besides, we have something we want to discuss with you."

"Or how about I just Hex you into the middle of next week for using that name," Tonks growled, fingering her wand eagerly.

"Oh, you can dish it out but you can't take it, eh?" Sirius smirked. "Seriously, though, we do need to talk to you about a matter of some delicacy."

"Okay, hexing postponed for the moment," Tonks agreed before smiling evilly. "I'll just wait to get you later when you're not expecting it."

"Give it your best shot," Sirius said smiling. "Come on, I'm parched."

The five of them headed downstairs to the kitchen where Dobby supplied them with drinks and an assortment of nibbles.

"What was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Tonks asked, although in Ginny's opinion the young Auror appeared more interested in eating a chocolate éclair in a suggestive manner in Remus's general direction.

"What we're about to tell you may come as something of a shock," Sirius began, "but I would ask you to hear us out. But before we start, I'm going to have to ask you to make an Unbreakable Vow not to disclose anything said today to anyone outside of this room."

"What?" Tonks said, looking up in shock. She'd been busy licking melted chocolate off her fingers in a way that seemed to be greatly upsetting poor Remus. Ginny decided that she must arrange to have a private conversation with Miss Tonks; the girl obviously had more things to teach her other than just duelling.

"Both Remus and I have taken a similar vow," Sirius assured her.

"Trust me, Dora, it's a necessity," Remus added. "Once you hear what we have to say you'll understand."

Tonks looked questioningly at both men for a moment before she turned to look directly at Harry. "What about these two?" she asked suspiciously.

"Ah, well, these two are rather central to everything and it's their secrets we're protecting," Sirius explained.

Tonks turned and looked earnestly at Remus. "Do you promise me that if I give the vow I won't live to regret it?" she asked him.

"I can't promise you that," Remus replied looking the young woman directly in the eyes, "but I do think you'll want to hear what we have to say, even if it puts you at odds with you've come to believe is established wisdom."

For a moment, Tonks seemed lost in thought. She drummed her brightly painted nails on the table top before she looked up at her cousin.

"Okay, I agree," she told Sirius, "but only a vow not to disclose anything I hear today. I refuse to commit to more until I know what's going on."

"And I wouldn't expect you to," Sirius assured her.

The Unbreakable Vow was given quickly, with Remus acting as the Bonder. As soon as Tonks had given her vow of secrecy, she looked at Sirius expectantly.

"This has something to do with Dumbledore, doesn't it?" she asked him directly.

Sirius chortled. "Ah, Tonks, I always said you were a smart one. You are quite correct; this has to do with Dumbledore and primarily his handling of Harry's affairs."

"I gathered that you weren't happy with Dumbledore," Tonks noted. "You've certainly been dropping enough hints lately. Is this why you refused to join the Order?"

"Partly," Sirius confirmed. "Although I'm not convinced Albus's much lauded Order of the Phoenix is all it's cracked up to be. People seem to forget how close to complete annihilation we were back in the war with Voldemort."

"You weren't there, Dora," Remus agreed. "The Order came pretty damn close to being wiped out. We lost so many good people: Dorcas Meadows, Frank and Alice, Gideon and Fabian, Marlene McKinnon…"

"We could sit here all day and list the people killed or maimed," Sirius interrupted, "and part of that was due Dumbledore's leadership. He just wasn't aggressive enough! All we ever did was patrol and mount guard duty on key points; we never once took the fight to the Death Eaters! We were fighting a war with one hand tied behind our backs."

"And you don't win wars by being on the defensive all the time," Remus noted. "Dumbledore is a good man, but that's half the problem. He just wasn't an effective military leader. The man is a scholar and a philosopher, not a warrior. Voldemort might fear him due to his power and capabilities, but as a general, Albus leaves much to be desired."

"You must have attended the first meeting of the Order by now, tell me, did they agree anything useful at all?" Sirius demanded of his cousin.

"Well, not really," she admitted, looking extremely embarrassed and pointedly keeping her gaze on the table top.

"I bet they talked about me, didn't they?" Harry suddenly asked in a frosty tone.

"Yeah, mostly," Tonks admitted sheepishly. "Dumbledore seemed very concerned about you not spending the holidays with your relatives. He thinks you should be with your real family and I do think he has a point."

"Real family?" Harry spat, leaping to his feet. "Real family? Those bastards are not and never have been my 'real family'! I bet no one thought to ask the Dursleys what they thought about me not returning, did they? Well, I'll tell you what they're thinking: they're over the moon! I bet my aunt and uncle are dancing with joy at not having to have the freak stay with them this summer. And trust me, I feel the same way about them."

"But Dumbledore said they were extremely upset that you weren't going back to stay with them," Tonks said in surprise.

"What?" Harry yelled. "He said that? What a pile of shit! That lying, old bastard! I'll never trust him again."

Ginny leapt to her feet and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend. "Easy, Harry," she said in calming tone. "It's not Tonks' fault; she didn't know any better."

"There's no way in hell you're being sent back to those people," Sirius assured his godson. "It's not going to happen."

Harry began to calm down and looked over at Tonks guiltily. "Sorry, I didn't mean to shout at you," he mumbled.

"That's alright, Harry," she replied. "I get the impression Dumbledore wasn't exactly telling the truth, then? Why did he lie?"

"Because he puts so much faith in the damn Blood Wards he set up at Privet Drive, even though they're no better than the wards around this place," Sirius snorted.

"There's more to it than that," Ginny disagreed. "What Dumbledore really wants is complete control over Harry. While Harry is with the Muggles he has no contact with the Wizarding world at all and, more importantly, can't do any magic. This means that our darling Headmaster has complete control over exactly what Harry is taught and what information he is given. Clearly that's not the case with him being here with Sirius."

"I don't get it," Tonks said shaking her head. "Why would Dumbledore want to restrict what Harry learns? And come to think about it, why is Harry so important anyway? I know he defeated You-Know-Who last time, but why is controlling Harry now so important?"

"Tell her," Harry said simply.

"You're sure?" Sirius asked doubtfully. After receiving a nod from his godson he turned back to Tonks.

"It's all due to a prophecy that was made shortly before Harry was born," Sirius explained. "I don't know the exact wording, but we think the jist of it is that Harry will be the one to defeat Voldemort for good."

Tonks looked around the group in complete confusion. "But if that's the case then why isn't Dumbledore training Harry himself?"

"Because he believes I have to sacrifice myself to defeat him," Harry replied in a cold voice, "and just to make sure that I do, Dumbledore is making sure that I don't have the tools to fight Voldemort fairly."

A look of horror appeared on Tonks's face and she looked like she was going to be sick. Gradually, her expression began to change and she took on a look of determination.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked resolutely.

"That's my girl," Sirius said, breaking into a wide grin.


	4. Chapter 4 – The Pain Within

**Chapter 4 – The Pain Within**

AN

In my author notes back in Chapter 1, I mentioned that I'd encountered all sorts of problems with this story. We have now reached the point where it all started going wrong for me.

This was an incredibly difficult chapter to write and deals with the horrendous issue of child abuse. Even if we just take what we know from the books, Harry suffered a horrible childhood. Food being withheld as punishment, being locked in a dark, confined space, constant verbal abuse, and actual physical abuse from his cousin: it's a miracle Harry came out so grounded. This chapter is my take on what that abuse actually did to him.

Unfortunately, my first draft of this came out so grim and unpleasant that it was nearly unreadable. I quickly realised that what I'd written just didn't fit in with the rest of the (relatively upbeat) story. There were, however, too many elements in the chapter that I wanted to show in the story to abandon it completely. There was nothing for it but to scrap the whole thing and come at it from a different angle.

Rather than showing Harry as a complete emotional wreck as I previously did, he is now portrayed as someone who has gone through a dreadful experience and now just wants to put it behind them. Of course, suppressing bad experiences can often lead to bigger problems later on, and this chapter is primarily about confronting those issues by allowing someone to help. It's not all doom and gloom, however, and I deliberately put some lighter scenes in to balance the darker ones, but even so, this is quite an emotional chapter.

Huge thanks to Arnel for her support and encouragement, in addition to her wonderful beta skills.

* * *

With a strange mix of apprehension and irritation, Ginny slipped into her seat. The weekend had been a complete bust. Her mother had invited some obscure branch of the Prewett family over to visit on the Sunday, so on Friday night she had informed all her children still living at home that she would require their services for the entire weekend. Ginny had been forced to spend Saturday cleaning the house, and Sunday in the company of an aggressively sulking Ron and a cousin (twice removed) who kept leering at her. The only bright spot of the day had been when her cousin followed her when she went to the loo and her sharply applied knee had convinced him that she wasn't interested.

So, not only had she missed out on one of her secret midnight trips to Harry's bedroom, she now had to face the daunting prospect of her first Occlumency lesson with Madam Hagen. Still, at least she wasn't as worked up about the prospect as Harry, who seemed on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Her boyfriend kept looking anxiously towards the door in anticipation of their new teacher's arrival.

At precisely nine a.m. the door swung open and Madam Hagen entered. She was wearing the same suit that Ginny had seen her in before and, if anything, looked even more formidable. Ginny was pretty sure she heard Harry whimper beside her, not that she really blamed him.

Madam Hagen paused and removed her suit jacket. Underneath she was wearing a plain white blouse that did little to hide the woman's monumental breasts. Although Ginny was rather pleased with how her body was developing, she couldn't help but feel rather intimidated by that much chest.

"Good morning, children," Madam Hagen addressed them in a surprisingly gentle voice. "As you know, I'm here today to begin to teach you the art of Occlumency. I have taught many children your age and have generally been rather successful in my previous efforts. Occlumency training requires a high degree of trust between the teacher and the pupil and I can assure you that whatever thoughts and ideas I see in your heads will remain completely secret. Now, before we start do you have any questions?"

"Madam Hagen? I was wondering what…" Harry began before the woman interrupted.

"I'm sorry, I should have said at the start. When we are in class you can call me by my first name: Eva," she instructed, "and if you have no objections, I will call you Harry and Ginny. During this training we are likely to get to know each other extremely well, so there's no point standing on ceremony. I would ask, however, that in the presence of Mr Black that you continue to refer to me as Madam Hagen."

"Of course, Madam… err, Eva," Harry stuttered. "I was just going to ask you about your comment that you'd generally been successful in teaching Occlumency. Do most of your pupils pick it up easily? What if we have no natural talent for it?"

"That's a good question, Harry," Eva said smiling. Ginny couldn't help but think that a smile made the woman look ten times younger. "Occlumency is an art and some people definitely have more aptitude for it than others. However, it is also a discipline and a well-organised, focused mind can usually overcome any natural deficiencies. Unfortunately, there are always some who never manage to master the art. I work almost exclusively for wealthy pure-blood families and, sadly, generations of interbreeding can sometimes result in me attempting to teach youngsters with the mental capacity of a turnip. That's not a problem I suspect I will face with you two."

Ginny giggled at Eva's words. It had only been a few minutes and she was already beginning to warm to the woman. She was far less intimidating than she first appeared.

"Now, Mr Black informs me that you have been attempting to learn Occlumency from a book. I'm sorry to say, but that's generally a futile exercise," Eva explained.

"Yeah, we got that impression, too," Ginny lamented.

"I'm not surprised," Eva sympathised. "To start off with I think I shall attempt to enter your minds to see what defences you have in place already. Again, I must stress that your secrets are my secrets, too, and nothing I see will ever go beyond these four walls. Who will be first?"

"I will, Eva," Harry volunteered unenthusiastically.

"Very well, Harry. I promise this won't hurt, although it may well be somewhat disorientating," Eva said. "Prepare yourself. _Legilimens!_"

Eva unswervingly pointed her wand at Harry's head and her face took on a distant expression. Harry seemed rooted to the spot, although he did flinch several times.

Seconds dragged into minutes and Ginny started to become concerned. Madam Hagen seemed to be spending an inordinate amount of time in Harry's mind. Ginny could see sweat starting to drip off Harry's brow and he was looking increasingly uncomfortable. Just as she was wondering if she should do something, Eva suddenly lowered her wand and let out an explosive breath. Harry, for his part, was trembling and looked traumatised by the whole thing.

To Ginny's immense surprise, the fearsome Madam Hagen knelt down in front Harry and gently took his hands in her own.

"Are you alright?" she asked compassionately.

"Yeah, I… I guess so," Harry replied shakily.

"What happened?" Ginny demanded, alarmed at her boyfriend's distress.

Madam Hagen looked enquiringly at Harry for a moment, but as he didn't appear to be prepared to say anything, she turned to Ginny.

"I'm afraid Harry here doesn't have anything in the way of effective shielding around his mind and I managed to break into his memories without difficulty," she explained. "A great deal of what I found was… upsetting."

Fear began to build in Ginny about what exactly their Occlumency Teacher had seen in Harry's memories.

"You've seen everything?" Ginny demanded to know, which brought a solemn nod from the German woman. "I don't think a simple magical contract is going to be enough. Before you leave today, Madam Hagen, I want you to make an Unbreakable Vow of silence."

"And you shall have it," Eva promised. "Harry's extraordinary adventures during his time at Hogwarts makes me totally understand your need for complete secrecy. But it was not those memories I was referring to. What upset both of us was his recollections of his time before he came to Hogwarts when he was under the guardianship of his aunt and uncle."

Ginny suddenly went cold. What had those Muggle bastards done to Harry?

"I'm okay," Harry suddenly protested. "It's all over and done with now and I never have to go back there again, so it doesn't matter."

Eva tenderly stroked his cheek. "Oh, my poor, sweet boy. It does matter and unless you confront what happened to you, you'll spend the rest of your life dragging this bitterness and guilt around with you. Even though you don't realise it, these memories colour your thinking and affect your actions. Do you find there are times when you feel angry for no reason and you can't understand why you feel the way you do?"

"I…" Harry began, his face betraying his panic for a moment, before his shoulders slumped and he took on a defeated look. "Yeah, I do; frequently. It hasn't been quite so bad this year with Ginny about, but even with her help I sometimes feel like screaming for no reason. Sometimes I just can't control my temper and I just want to lash out at whoever is around me. I hope… I mean, I don't think I would ever hurt my friends, but sometimes I'm so out of control that I don't know what I'll do."

"These are classic problems in young people who have suffered as you have, Harry. As painful as it will be, you need to confront what has happened to you and talk it through with someone," Eva said firmly. "Would you feel more comfortable talking with your godfather?"

"NO!" Harry nearly shouted. "Sirius already feels massively guilty that I ended up with the Dursleys in the first place. If I discuss this with him, he might go off and do something stupid, like attack them."

Ginny scooted over so she was pressed right up against Harry and she snaked her left arm around his waist. "Harry, I'm here for you," she assured him. "You can talk to me about anything and I promise I'll listen."

"I…" Harry stuttered.

"You don't have to tell her everything in one go," Eva assured him. "Just a little at a time. Once you start, I assure you, it will become easier to share."

"Let me in, Harry, please," Ginny begged.

Harry screwed his eyes tight shut and clenched his jaw. Whatever secrets he was keeping must have been intensely personal, Ginny suspected, and she began to fear what was buried in his mind.

"I'll… I'll try," Harry whispered eventually and Ginny let out an explosive breath that she didn't realise she had been holding.

"Just do your best, Harry, that's all anyone can ask of you," Madam Hagen said and then surprised Ginny by pulling Harry into a rough hug. Taking her cue from the woman, Ginny wrapped her other arm around her boyfriend and rested her head on his shoulder. The three of them remained in that position until Harry managed to calm himself down.

"Right, I think we'd better press on," Madam Hagen said eventually, releasing Harry from her embrace and standing. "Ginny, I will test your shields now, are you ready?"

Ginny moved away from Harry slightly and braced herself. "Okay, you can start," she said nervously.

A second later, Ginny became aware of Eva entering her mind. Whatever she had been expecting, the experience was far more disturbing than she had anticipated. Imagines and memories from her past began to assault her in a meaningless jumble. One second she caught a glimpse of herself as a small girl, crying because Fred and George had been teasing her, the next she saw herself gazing up into Harry's green eyes, having just awoken in the Chamber of Secrets. The images came and went at a frightening speed and Ginny felt like her whole life was being paraded in front of her eyes.

As suddenly as it started, the whirling images vanished. Ginny blinked in confusion and looked up to see Madam Hagen standing in front of her with her, wand in hand, and an unreadable expression on her face.

"I think that we need to make that Unbreakable Vow immediately," the woman said slowly, "for my protection as much as yours. I'm used to my clients having secrets but this… this goes far beyond anything I've experienced. Harry, why don't you go and find your godfather and ask him to come up. Make sure he has his wand with him."

Harry nodded and hurried out the door. As soon as he had gone Madam Hagen turned to Ginny.

"Ginny, I wanted to have a quick word with you about Harry without him being here," she began. "I cannot stress to you the need for him to open up and talk about his past with you. He will no doubt fight you all the way, but you cannot be put off. His life depends on it."

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked in alarm. "What happened to him?"

"I don't think I'm betraying a confidence if I tell you he was beaten, starved and ridiculed for years by those animals he calls family," Eva explained. "It has left him with huge self-worth issues and he's riddled with guilt and shame. More to the point, its left him emotionally scarred and with no point of reference for feelings of love."

"You mean…" Ginny began hesitantly.

"I saw what you intend to do with the Soul Bonding Ritual," the woman interrupted, "and regrettably, as things stand, it won't work. Not because Harry doesn't feel the same way about you as you do about him, but simply because he thinks he's unworthy of your love. His previous guardians instilled him in such feelings of self-loathing and guilt that he doesn't believe anyone could truly love him, and he secretly expects you to grow weary of him and dump him at some point."

"But I told him how I feel," Ginny objected. "I told him how compatible we are and that I'm willing to bind myself to him!"

"Harry is not thinking rationally, I'm afraid," Eva explained. "He needs to confront what happened to him and purge himself of these negative feelings. Until he learns to believe in himself and accept that he is worthy of other people's affection, he will be incapable of successful completing the ritual as you plan."

"But if he can't perform the ritual…" Ginny started to say.

"Then the piece of You-Know-Who's soul will remain inside him, slowly poisoning him from the inside," Eva said, completing Ginny's sentence. "He will either die or become another Dark Lord."

Ginny stared at the woman in horror.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"Slow down, Ginny, you nearly pulled me over," Harry complained

Ginny ignore his protests and continued to drag him by the hand up the stairs leading to the top floor of Grimmauld Place. She had a specific destination in mind, and she was eager to get there.

Since her alarming conversation with Madam Hagen that morning, Ginny had been wracking her brains to think of a way to get her normally reticent boyfriend to open up to her. She'd even rummaged through Tom's memories to see if she could discover a way to trick him into talking; Riddle had been a manipulative bastard, after all. She'd quickly discarded that idea, however. Harry needed to want to talk, not be forced into it. He would probably not react at all well if he thought he had been coerced into sharing his secrets. Instead, she would just need to be patient and just encourage him to open up to her.

The morning had passed with maddening slowness. After Sirius had accepted Madam Hagen's Unbreakable Vow, they had unanimously agreed that no more Occlumency training should be attempted that day, and Eva had departed with the promise to return in the morning. Instead, the remaining trio had gone up to the training room and practiced duelling. Harry, in particular, seemed grateful for the opportunity to work off some aggression and had thrown himself into it. After lunch, Ginny had informed Sirius in no uncertain terms that she was going to undertake some private training with Harry. Ignoring Sirius's raised eyebrows and suggestive smirk, she had dragged Harry to the top floor of the house.

"Where are we going, Ginny?" Harry demanded. "I don't think I've even ever been to this bit of the house."

"That's because you don't have my inquisitive nature," Ginny informed him. "I like to explore anywhere I am thoroughly. Ah, here we go."

She stopped in front of a plain door tucked away at the end of the hallway. The handle was rather stiff, but when she swung the door open it revealed a small set of stairs that lead to another door. She bounced up the stairs and turned the heavy, brass key that was already inserted in the lock. Pulling the heavy door open, she was temporally blinded by the dazzling sunlight.

"Wow!" she heard Harry exclaim from behind her. "I never knew this was up here."

They had emerged out into a small roof terrace. The space was quite limited and you would have been pushed to place more than a small garden table and a couple of chairs in it. The view, however, more than made up for the lack of room. North London lay spread out before them like a great sea of rooftops, with the occasional tower block jutting out to break up the landscape. Turning, she found her view was slightly obstructed by the house's chimney stack, but she could just see the tall buildings of central London and the great dome of St Paul's Cathedral.

"I'm amazed we have such a great view," Harry commented, looking about enthusiastically. "I mean, I didn't think Grimmauld Place was that much taller than all the other buildings around it."

"We're a level or two above the surrounding houses," Ginny pointed out, "and much higher than all those terrace houses to the north."

"This is great," he said, sounding genuinely pleased. "Thanks for showing it to me."

"No worries, it is your house, after all," Ginny pointed out.

"Well, it's Sirius's to be accurate," he replied.

"It's still your home, Harry," she reminded him. "This is where you live now."

"Yeah, I guess so," he acknowledged before moving over and leaning on the metal railing that ran around the small space. Ginny came over a wormed her hand between his arm and body, so she could link arms with him. Together, they gazed out over the city.

They stood in silence for some time and Ginny could feel Harry shifting uncomfortably next to her. She guessed that he had figured out why she had dragged him up to this part of the house where there would be no chance of being overheard, and that he was becoming distinctly nervous about it. She steadfastly maintained her silence, however.

"Look, Ginny, I know why you've brought me up here, but I'm just not ready to talk about things yet. I need more time, okay," he said eventually to her unspoken question.

"That's okay, Harry. I know it's difficult and I'm not going to put any pressure on you at all. I don't want you to think that every time we start a conversation I'm going to start badgering you to start talking about your past. I'm not Hermione, you know," she told him.

"Oh, Merlin!" Harry exclaimed. "Can you imagine what she'd be like if she got wind of all this? She'd be on at me night and day to talk about my 'feelings' and how I have to 'unburden' myself. I love her to bits, but there are times when I could happily strangle that girl."

Ginny sniggered. "Hermione's like a sister to you. It's natural to want to kill your siblings on a regular basis."

"You would know, I guess," Harry laughed.

Ginny nodded and made a secret vow to ensure Hermione never did get an inkling about Harry's troubled past. Fortunately, from the letters Harry and Hermione had been exchanging, it turned out that Mr and Mrs Granger had been rather insistent on their daughter spending a lot more time with them that summer. While Harry might have benefitted from having his closest friend about, Ginny was quite glad she wasn't going to be around much, asking difficult questions as she would.

A further silence descended, although this one was far less uncomfortable than the previous one.

"What do you want to do when you leave Hogwarts," Ginny asked eventually, the choice of topic coming to her at random.

"Err… I don't know," Harry admitted, frowning. "I guess I never really thought much beyond finishing school. I expect I'll be spending most of my time fighting Voldemort."

"We have a plan for that," she reminded him. "Hopefully, we can get rid of the git sooner rather than later, and all his moronic followers, too. But forget about him. Imagine a time where there are no Dark Lords or stupid prophecies; the world is your oyster. What would you want to do then?"

"Dunno," Harry shrugged. "Get a job, I suppose."

"That's it?" she asked. His answer disappointed her and it must have shown in her voice.

"Well, eventually," Harry backtracked rapidly. "I mean, I know I'm quite well off, but I can't just sit around all day, can I? I would like to travel a bit, though. I've never been outside of this country and I'd love to see some of the world."

"Where would you like to visit?" Ginny asked, much happier with this answer. She just couldn't imagine Harry happily becoming a wage slave.

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "Egypt sounded really interesting; perhaps you could show me some of the sights one day? But truthfully, I'd have to do a bit of research as I haven't the faintest idea where to go. It's not like I have much experience with travel, is it?"

"Didn't the Dursleys go on holiday?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah, but mostly to locations in this country. They really didn't like to travel," he admitted. "One time, when I was about eight, they went to Spain for a week and I stayed with Mrs Figg and her six million cats. They hated it, though. Vernon spent weeks afterwards complaining about it. The weather was too hot and he hated the food. He didn't like the fact that no one spoke English, although what he was expecting if he went abroad, I don't know. That was just typical of him, though. He was a racist git; he only had to turn on the television and he'd see someone he didn't approve of. He'd sit there moaning that this bloke's hair was too long or that woman was the wrong colour, or something. I don't think I ever heard him have a good word about anyone. You can just imagine what he thought about me! He used to say…."

Harry's voice trailed off as he realised what he'd been saying.

"See, it's not so hard to talk about your family, is it?" Ginny said encouragingly.

"You tricked me!" he accused her in a hurt voice. "You tricked me into talking about them."

"Harry, all I did was ask if they ever went on holiday. You were the one who started talking about your uncle, I didn't force you," she said reasonably.

"Yeah, I guess," he admitted. "Sorry."

"It's okay," she assured him, rubbing his arm with her hand. "But you know, I get the feeling that deep down you actually want to talk about this stuff."

"I'm not sure," Harry replied hesitantly. "At first, when Madam Hagen suggested it, I was horrified. I've never, ever talked about any of this with anyone. The only time I ever tried was at school when I talked to a teacher. He immediately contacted the Dursleys and you can imagine what the results of that were. But sometimes I… I don't want to talk about it, but…"

"You feel you _need _to talk about it," Ginny completed his sentence.

Harry nodded reluctantly.

"Okay, here's what I suggest. Every day, we put aside some time to talk in private. Now, we could talk about anything you want: how training is going, Quidditch, even what you had for breakfast, but the point is that we'll talk. And if you feel up to talking a bit about your time at the Dursleys, then I'll be happy to listen."

Harry thought for a moment and then nodded. "Alright, as long as we can take it at an easy pace. I don't think I could just come out and tell you everything. Some of it is… not nice."

Ginny looked at Harry's embarrassed expression and guessed what he was thinking.

"No matter what you tell me I won't think any less of you, Harry," she assured him. "I love the person you are now and I wouldn't change you for the world."

Harry gave a stunned look and Ginny realised she might have taken things too far by using the 'L' word. He was still emotionally fragile and she didn't want to push things too far, too soon. She decided to change tack slightly.

"Whatever you went through with those horrible Muggles doesn't matter anymore, because you won!" she exclaimed. "They tried to change you and make you feel worthless, but it didn't work. You've come out the other side of it and you're still you. Harry Potter: my kind, brave, dedicated, and not to mention pretty bloody sexy, boyfriend."

"Sexy, me? I think the next time we're in Hogsmeade we'd better take you to visit that opticians shop," Harry declared, shaking his head. He did, however, have a slight smile on his lips and Ginny suspected she might have the right idea appealing to Harry's competitive nature.

"Yeah, bloody sexy, actually, and I'm happy to come and demonstrate how much I think that next time I sleep over," she said grinning.

"That sounds like fun," he admitted, wrapping his arms around her. "Thanks for everything, Ginny. I don't know what I'd do without you, you know."

"Probably sulk a lot," she replied cheekily, "but you don't have to worry because I'm always going to be here for you, and you're always going to be there for me. You're stuck with me now."

She felt his arms tighten around her and she heard his breathing become a little ragged. They clung to each other and Ginny felt that they'd just taken a huge step forward in a very short time. Oh, getting Harry to completely open would be a long, hard struggle and she didn't doubt for a moment there would be setbacks along the way, but at least they were heading in the right direction.

And that, after the revelations of the morning, was all she could ask for.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"Come on, Harry, I'm starving," Ginny moaned.

"That's hardly my fault, is it?" Harry moaned. "Blame Miss Tonks, here. She's the one who's kept us duelling for three hours straight!"

"You need to be able to push yourself, Harry," Tonks replied, completely unfazed by his criticism. "You can't always pick and choose how long a fight will last."

"Yeah, I guess," Harry grunted.

Ginny looked over at her sulking boyfriend. He'd been in a sour mood all day, and the extended training session had done little to improve his mood.

"You're just hungry," Ginny decided. "It's way past dinner time. A good meal will make you feel better."

"I suppose so," he replied grumpily.

In truth, Ginny was fully aware why Harry was in such a bad mood. She carefully hid a smile at the thought that Harry was going to cheer up very shortly.

"I still don't know why you felt the need for us to repeatedly practice those Shield Charms, Tonks," Harry continued to gripe as they headed down the stairs. "I mean, that's pretty old hat for us now, isn't it?"

"You can never practice Shields too much," Tonks disagreed as they reached the ground floor and headed towards the kitchen. "They can save your life, and don't forget it."

"Yes, but wouldn't it…" began Harry.

"Oh, honestly, can we please eat first and argue later?" Ginny huffed and gave Harry a solid shove towards the kitchen door.

"Alright!" Harry snapped, reaching for the door handle. "I was just trying to make a…"

"SURPRISE!" numerous voices bellowed.

It was just as well Ginny and Tonks had been standing behind Harry at the time as he nearly fell over backwards at the sudden noise. The two girls steadied him and began to gently push him forward."

"What the…" Harry mumbled.

"Bet you thought we'd all forgotten, didn't you?" Ginny giggled.

"Happy birthday, Harry!" Sirius yelled and the cry was soon taken up by everybody else in the room.

"You git!" Harry exclaimed. "You let me go through the whole day thinking you didn't know!"

"Of course," Sirius grinned. "This is a surprise party, after all."

"You… you…" Harry spluttered, "git!"

And with that he hurried over and pulled Sirius into a rough hug. Ginny couldn't help but smile at how much more affectionate and open Harry was these days. It wasn't so long ago that the idea of actually initiating any form of physical contact would have been an anathema to him. She felt herself tearing up at the sight of the pair actually showing how much they meant to each other.

"Aww, isn't that sweet," Tonks murmured next to her.

"Yeah, Sirius has been great for Harry," Ginny noted approvingly. "Oh, and thanks for keeping Harry busy while we set all this up."

"No problems, Ginny," Tonks grinned. "Although I wasn't expecting him to last as long as he did. That boyfriend of yours is one powerful wizard."

"Oh, yeah. You'd better believe it," Ginny smiled.

"Thanks, everybody," Harry called out, having pulled away from his godfather. "I can't believe you did all this; it looks great!"

"It was nothing, Harry," Molly Weasley called out. "Now come over here and have some punch."

Ginny smiled at her mother who had taken charge of the large punch bowl that had been situated at the end of the table, presumably to stop the twins from adding anything to it. The rest of the table was given over to a bewildering array of party food, while at the end was a large stack of neatly wrapped presents. The rest of the kitchen was a mass of streamers, balloons and several large banners all bearing the message 'Happy Birthday Harry'. All in all, Ginny had to admit it looked great.

By now the rest of the guests had started to crowd round Harry and offer their best wishes. They had purposely kept the invitations limited to Harry's most immediate friends as they knew he was often uncomfortable amongst people he didn't know that well. Judging by the happy expression on his face, they had judged it well. With a broad smile on her face, Ginny went over to get herself a drink just as Harry was greeting his closest friend.

"Hermione!" Harry exclaimed. "You came!"

"Of course I did. I wouldn't miss your birthday party for the world," Hermione replied before pulling him into a hug. To Harry's credit, he didn't flinch once at the girl's embrace.

"I'm just a bit surprised," Harry told her after they had separated. "From the way you put it in your letters I didn't think you'd be allowed to come over here at all."

"Mum and Dad decided to make the exception as it was your birthday," she replied, looking a little uneasy.

"Why don't your parents want you to visit?" Ginny asked her friend.

"Oh, well, it's silly really. Just all a bit of a misunderstanding," Hermione said, her cheeks flushing.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked looking worried.

"Oh, it's nothing, it's just a bit embarrassing, that's all," Hermione replied.

"You don't seriously believe we're going to let you get away without explaining, do you?" Ginny smirked

For a second Hermione looked slightly panicky, but then her face set into an expression of resolve. "Oh, all right. If you must know, my parents are rather put out with Harry."

"What have I done?" Harry asked defensively.

"They've got it into their heads that you've dumped me for Ginny," Hermione said shortly.

"What?" Harry squeaked. "How the hell did they get that idea?"

"It's my fault, in a way," Hermione admitted. "I've always written rather detailed letters home and, of course, I've always talked about you and Ron a lot. What I didn't quite realise was that when I wrote about Ron it was invariably rather negative; my frustrations at getting him to do his homework or about some of the stupid arguments we use to have. On the other hand, when I described you it tended to be in much more favourable terms; about how you'd played really well at Quidditch or done something incredibly brave. It turns out that my parents were already a bit suspicious that I always hung around with two boys and assumed you were both vying for my affection. From my glowing description of you, Harry, they thought that you were the one I'd chosen."

"But didn't you mention going to the Yule Ball with Viktor? That should have given them a clue," Harry protested.

"Yes, but I'd already told them that we'd had a bit of a falling out about the Tournament," Hermione shrugged. "They thought I'd gone to the ball with another boy to make you jealous. When I wrote to them saying we had made up, they took that to mean we were back together again. When they saw you and Ginny together at King's Cross they wrongly thought that you'd broken up with me and were flaunting another girl in my face."

"Yeah, that Harry Potter! Always flaunting his conquests about," Ginny laughed.

"But that doesn't make sense," Harry complained. "If your parents know that we're not a couple, why do they object to you visiting Grimmauld Place?"

"You'll have to forgive them, Harry," Hermione sighed. "Mum and Dad are convinced that I'm devastated about losing you and that I'm just hiding my pain. They've taken my pleas to be allowed to visit as a sign that I'm desperate to get you back. They think that if I'm allowed over here unsupervised I'll do something stupid to try and win your affection again. I've already had Mum give me an hour-long talk on birth control. I think they think I'll throw myself at you or something, and you'll take advantage of me."

"What?" Harry exclaimed. "They've got to be joking, haven't they? Like I'd do anything like that to you!"

Hermione's expression suddenly went hard. "Why? Is that such a hideous idea to you?" she snapped.

"Eh? Oh, I didn't mean it like that, Hermione," Harry apologised.

"Am I so ugly that you couldn't bear to touch me, is that it?" Hermione demanded angrily.

"No!" Harry spluttered. "I don't think you're ugly at all. I think you're lovely!"

Ginny had been following the conversation in bemusement until Hermione managed to catch her eye. It was only for a second, but she instantly knew what her friend had in mind.

"You… you think I'm lovely?" Hermione repeated in a hushed voice.

"Absolutely," Harry said, relief clear in his voice. "You're very pretty."

"Oh, Harry!" Hermione gushed. "My parents WERE right! You do love me, after all!"

"Of course I… err, what?" Harry blurted.

"I knew we were meant to be together! It was destiny!" Hermione declared, flinging her arms around him.

"Hermione, I…" Harry began.

"Hold on a second, Hermione," Ginny mock protested. "You just can't steal my boyfriend like that. He's a very adequate kisser and where else will I get a boyfriend during the school holidays?"

"Adequate?" Harry protested.

"Well, why don't we share him?" Hermione suggested after some thought. "You could have him Monday, Wednesday and Friday, while I have him Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. He can have Sunday's off."

"That could work… oh, wait. I've just remembered that Luna wanted to share him as well," Ginny exclaimed before waving her blond-haired friend over. "Hey, Luna, Hermione and I we're just discussing sharing Harry here. We were wondering if you wanted to be included."

"Hmm, that might be quite pleasant," Luna mused before poking Harry in the stomach with her finger. "He's not so skinny anymore, is he? Can you show me your teeth please, Harry?"

"My teeth?" Harry said in bewilderment. He looked about ready to start running.

"Yes, I can't abide boys with bad teeth. Open up, please," Luna insisted.

"You're nuts! All three of you," Harry barked. "Ginny, how could you even suggest this? I thought we had something special."

"We do, Harry," Ginny replied assuring, "and we'll continue to have it Monday, Wednesday and Fridays."

"Oh, can I have him Wednesdays?" Luna piped up. "I'm normally free on Wednesdays."

"Of course," Ginny assured her.

"Okay, this has gone on long enough!" Harry snapped. "I can tell you're all winding me up. Err, you are winding me up, aren't you?"

At this all three girls broke down into gales of laughter while Harry just scowled at them.

"Oh, Harry! Did you really think you had three witches all throwing themselves at you?" Hermione giggled. "Sorry to bruise your ego."

Ginny wrapped herself around his arm. "And did you think that I'd be prepared to share? I'd hex your bits off if you even looked at another witch."

"This is my birthday, you know," Harry huffed. "I don't think it's very nice of you three to take the piss out of me on my birthday."

"Oh, poor darling! I promise I'll make it up to you later," Ginny assured him.

"I'll hold you to that," Harry replied. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go and greet my other guests. The twins are over there, and I'm sure they're much less inclined to mock me on my special day."

And with that, Harry stuck his nose in the air and made his way over to where Fred and George were tucking into a plate of sausage rolls.

"Do you know, I think Harry's actually developing a sense of humour," Ginny giggled.

"Or maybe he genuinely believes the twins will make less fun of him than us three," Hermione laughed.

"Does this mean I don't get Harry on Wednesdays, then?" Luna asked.

Ginny and Hermione both collapsed on the floor laughing.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Tapping her foot in frustration, Ginny looked about the landing with a scowl on her face. Her Detection Spell indicated that there were at least sixteen traps and alarms scattered around the place, and nearly all of them were cast badly.

She'd really thought it would be easy to sneak into Harry's bedroom that night. Sirius, after all, had been three sheets to the wind by the time Harry's birthday party had wound down. In fact, pretty much all the adult guests had been in a similar state, testimony to Sirius Black's skills of persuasion and extensive booze supply. Even her mother had been unsteady on her feet by the time she tried to Floo home.

Ginny had been sure that Sirius would have been too drunk to play their normal game of trying to prevent her sneaking into Harry's bed. Instead, it appeared Sirius had relied on quantity rather than quality, and had cast a veritable minefield of charms. The fact that most of them looked like they'd been cast by an incompetent first-year was irrelevant. If she tried to dispel all these traps individually she'd be here all night!

Eventually, she decided tonight was not a night for subtlety. Instead, she cast a strong Silencing Charm all across the landing, conjured some cotton wool for her ears, and just walked straight through the alarms. Her suspicions were correct; Sirius really was too drunk to cast the charms properly. Half of them failed to go off at all, while the ones that did generally featured Sirius's voice making crude comments about what he thought Ginny was planning to do to Harry at ear splitting volume.

She was extremely grateful when she reached the door and slipped inside. The Silencing Charm was working perfectly and inside Harry's bedroom was all was quiet and peaceful. She then nearly jumped ten feet in the air when a light suddenly flared into life nearby.

"You took your time," Harry's voice said smugly.

Blinking from the light, Ginny squinted and saw her boyfriend propped up in his bed with his hands behind his head. A lamp on the bedside cabinet next to him was the source of the illumination and cast golden rays of light over his bare chest. Ginny suddenly found her momentary anger at being surprised vanishing and her attention becoming wholly focused on Harry's naked flesh.

"What made you so sure I was going to visit you tonight?" Ginny challenged him as she walked over to his bed.

"Well, you did say you were going to make it up to me for taking the piss out of me earlier," Harry pointed out.

"Oh, giving you that nice birthday present wasn't enough, then?" she teased although in truth she'd been rather worried about the comparatively cheap necklace she'd given him. It was simply all she could afford.

"The necklace was great, Ginny," Harry assured her. "See? I'm wearing it now. But that was for my birthday, you promised to make it up to me for the micky-taking; that's something else entirely."

"I suppose," Ginny said absently while wandering to the side of the bed. Her casualness was completely faked and her heart was pounding in her chest. She had a plan for tonight but she wasn't sure she had the courage to follow it through. "What do you think I could do to make it up to you, then?"

"Well, you could climb in bed with me and give me loads of kisses," Harry suggested.

"That does sound like a good idea," Ginny agreed, "but there's one problem."

"Oh, what's that?" Harry asked frowning.

"I'm a bit overdressed for bed," she replied, trying to keep her voice level. "You're lying there topless while I have this t-shirt on. I'd better take it off, don't you think?"

Harry looked like he'd just been struck by a Bludger. His eyes bulged and his mouth opened, but no words came out. After a moment, he rather tersely nodded.

Gathering all her Gryffindor courage, Ginny took hold of the hem of her shirt and began to slowly pull it up. She nearly faltered and chickened out, but the pleading look in Harry's eyes persuaded her to continue. Resolutely, she pulled the t-shirt over her head and let it drop to the floor.

Harry said nothing. He just stared at her, although judging from the rise and fall of his chest, he was breathing rather heavily. Ginny became nervous at his unblinking gaze.

"Like what you see?" she asked uncertainly.

For a second, Harry said nothing but continued to let his eyes roam over her body. Eventually, he looked into her eyes.

"Ginny, can I… see everything, please?" he asked in a shaky voice.

A strange mix of fear and excitement filled her. She felt thrilled that Harry wanted to see more and terrified of complying with his wishes. Then, with shaking hands, she hooked her thumbs under the elastic of her knickers and slowly pushed them down. They fell and bunched around her ankles.

"You're so, so beautiful," Harry whispered.

His breathy words had an amazing effect on her. Her timidity seemed to vanish and was replaced by desire. She suddenly wanted, no, needed Harry's flesh against hers. With her fear gone, she launched herself forward and threw herself on top of her boyfriend who had eagerly opened his arms to receive her. Before she could draw breathe, his tongue was frantically battling hers and his rough hands were caressing her body.

Neither of them got much sleep that night.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Slowly opening her eyes, Ginny was surprised to see so much light creeping into the bedroom. She glanced over at Harry's alarm clock and was alarmed to see that it was just after nine. She had a brief moment of panic that she would be discovered in her boyfriend's bed, but after a moment it occurred to her that after the vast amount of alcohol Sirius had consumed last night there was no way he was going to be crawling out of his bed until noon, and he was the only other person in the house. Contentedly, she snuggled back into Harry's arms.

It was a strange thing, but Ginny couldn't recall ever sleeping completely naked before. Living in a house with a horde of brothers, none of whom could quite grasp the concept of privacy, had always ensured that she was at least partially clothed at all times. Even when she was in the bath she'd always made sure that a towel was in arm's reach.

But this morning she didn't have to worry about ignorant siblings or disapproving parents. She felt wonderfully liberated by being naked between the sheets, and she most definitely approved of Harry being in a similar state. His boxer shorts had lasted only a few minutes after she climbed into his bed.

The thought of their activities the previous night brought a smug grin to her lips. Although they had both agreed not to go all the way, things had certainly got… raunchy. Harry had proved exceptionally good with his hands and she'd been happy to return the favour. Thank Merlin she remembered how to cast those Cleaning Charms afterwards…

"Morning, gorgeous," a husky voice whispered in her ear.

"Morning, love," she replied. "I hadn't realised you were awake."

"Yeah, I've been awake awhile now," Harry confirmed. "I was trying not to wake you."

"I wouldn't have minded," she said, twisting so she could face him. "It must have been boring just lying here not doing anything."

"I was doing something," Harry replied, reaching up to stroke her hair. "I was watching you and I'd be happy to lay here for days doing that."

"Oh, nice line," Ginny giggled. "You wouldn't be trying to seduce me, would you, Mr Potter?"

"I just can't believe I got so lucky. To be here, with you; I'm struggling to believe it's real."

"Of course it's real," Ginny assured him, rubbing her hands comfortingly over his chest.

Ginny looked carefully at her boyfriend and realised something was troubling him. Add to that his confession that he hadn't slept that much and she was starting to get worried.

"Are you okay, Harry?" she asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm… it's just… I still can't believe how my life has changed so much in less than a year," Harry explained in an uneasy voice, "and I have you to thank for that, Ginny."

"You don't have to thank me," she insisted. "You know I'd do anything for you, don't you?"

"After last night I'm beginning to believe that," he said with a brief flirtatious smile, but it was soon gone and the pensive expression returned to his face. "It's just this all seems unreal, somehow. When I woke up earlier, just for a second, I didn't know where I was. I couldn't figure out why I wasn't back at the Dursleys. It seemed unbelievable; me, lying in this big, comfy bed with the most beautiful girl in the world in my arms. I just couldn't accept this was really happening."

"Harry…" she began, but he cut her off.

"Did you know that I didn't even have my own bed until I was eleven?"

Ginny frowned. "Then where did you sleep?" she asked.

"In a cupboard under the stairs, on a thin mattress with one thin blanket to cover me. In winter I was freezing and in summer I used to melt. I used to be locked in there, too. I was given a small bucket to go to the toilet in, although I tried to avoid using it if possible. That small space was unpleasant enough without the stink of my own piss and shit, as well."

Ginny stared at him in horror, barely able to believe what he was saying. Harry was finally opening up to her, and now she was beginning to doubt she had the courage to hear what he had to say.

"My record for being locked in there was four days straight," he continued in a strangely unemotional voice. "That was just after I tried to tell a teacher about how I was treated. Luckily, there was a bottle of water already in the cupboard, otherwise I wouldn't have had anything to drink in that time. I often wondered if Vernon knew it was in there or not."

"They didn't feed you for four days?" Ginny whispered in shock.

"No, not a thing. When they finally did let me out I was so weak I couldn't stand. I wolfed down the bread that they gave me and was instantly sick. Of course, that earned me a beating, but I barely cared by that point. I just wanted to curl up and die."

A feeling of revulsion filled Ginny. How could anyone do that to a child? What sort of monsters were these Muggles? Afraid her disgust for the Dursleys would be evident, she said nothing. Instead, she grabbed Harry's hand and squeezed it hard.

"That was one of the worst times I had there," he told her. "I suppose things got a bit better once I grew up. When I became old enough to perform household chores I was let out of the cupboard more and beaten less. I guess I couldn't clean the toilets if I had a broken arm, could I? And they had to be careful once I started school, as well. No visible marks. Dudley and his gang were really good at that; they mainly punched me in the stomach or my upper arms. I'd be black and blue all over my body, but my face would be untouched."

Tears began to fall down Ginny's cheeks.

"I was told I was worthless every day of my life. I was just a worthless freak who should have been drowned at birth, I… I… oh, god. Tell me I never have to go back there, Ginny. Tell me this is real!"

Ginny grabbed Harry and hugged him as hard as she could. "It's real, Harry, it's all real. You never have to go back there, I swear. I'll burn their bloody house down before I let that happen."

Harry held her and started to sob into her shoulder. She gently stroked his hair and whispered soft words to him until he eventually quietened. From his regular breathing she realised he'd fallen asleep. Idly, she wondered how long he'd laid here in the dark, agonising whether to say anything to her when she woke up. Poor Harry.

But despite the pity welling up inside her, she couldn't help but feel a small glimmer of hope build inside of her. Harry had finally opened up to her and started to reveal the horrors of his childhood. As terrible as this had proved to be, he'd actually begun to talk about it and hopefully started to purge some of the terrible memories from himself.

At last, Harry could begin to heal.


	5. Chapter 5 – To Catch Me a Brother

**Chapter 5 – To Catch Me a Brother**

AN

Having got the 'difficult' chapter 4 out of the way, you'll all be pleased to know this one is a bit lighter in tone (a minor domestic dispute and the odd bit of criminal activity aside). I will say that Ginny's gift caused me all sorts of grief, but both Mrs Brennus and Arnel assure me that it is possible to spend that sort of money in the shop I describe. All I can say is that as a male it came as a complete shock to me!

BTW, if the title of this chapter sounds a little odd, it's actually (part) of a song title by a favourite band of mine. A much coveted Brennus gold star (virtual) is up for grabs to the first person who can name the group and, no, it's not quite as easy as just sticking it into Google.

Huge thanks again to Arnel for super-speedy beta work and reminding me to give Harry a pair of trousers.

* * *

"Let me tell you, Albus Dumbledore is not a happy bunny at the moment," Tonks said with a grin.

Ginny smirked at the obvious glee with which Tonks described the last meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. They had all gathered around the kitchen table at Grimmauld Place to hear what exactly Dumbledore was up to.

"I think he's starting to realise that he made a mistake in antagonising Fudge," Tonks continued. "The Minister is going all out to discredit him. Have you seen all those articles about Albus in the Daily Prophet?"

"Yes, some of them were quite amusing," Sirius replied. "Still, I can't believe most people would think there was a shred of truth in most of what was printed."

"I'm not so sure," Tonks disagreed. "From what I gather, a lot of those articles had been researched by Rita Skeeter before she disappeared and she had a talent for digging up dirt on people. All that stuff about his family, for instance. I double checked the arrest records in the Ministry Archives, and it appears Dumbledore's father really did get sent to prison for killing Muggles. It kind of makes you wonder what else will turn out to be true."

"I believed that stuff about Albus being gay," Sirius noted. "No straight man would ever wear robes the colour he does."

"Sirius!" Ginny scolded him. "That's really not important right now. What about that bit that said he knew Grindelwald? Have we any idea if there's any truth to that?"

"Sorry, Ginny, I have no idea and I can't think of a way to find out," Tonks apologised.

"I'm sorry, I just can't believe Dumbledore had a Dark Lord for a boyfriend," Harry said shaking his head. "That's just too much of a stretch for me."

"Well, whether it's true or not, it certainly has started a lot of tongues wagging," Tonks noted. "A lot of questions are being asked about him in all sorts of places. Of course, Dumbledore didn't seem too put out by it all, he was more worried that the Ministry is trying to interfere with the running of Hogwarts."

"Oh? In what way?" Remus asked.

"It appears Dumbledore is having difficulties with his annual hunt for a decent Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," she explained. "This year, the Ministry refuse to allow an unqualified teacher to be appointed, which is how Lockhart managed to get the job a while back. Dumbledore is struggling to find anyone with the necessary credentials and the Ministry is threatening to appoint someone themselves. Worse still, from Dumbledore's point of view, is that they are starting to pick fault with some of the present teachers. For being such a prestigious school, Hogwarts has a pretty poor pass rate for OWLS and NEWTS in certain subjects."

"Oh, let me guess," Harry interrupted. "Would those subjects be Divination, History of Magic and Potions?"

"Right first time," Tonks said smiling at Harry, "although they are pretty worried about the take up rate in some of the harder subjects, too. Hardly anyone outside of Ravenclaw takes Arithmancy or Runes anymore, and Defence scores have fluctuated pretty wildly, too."

"Ah, Hogwarts! Finest magical school in the whole of Europe!" Ginny said sarcastically.

"It most definitely use to be," Remus declared. "It wasn't so long ago that no other school could hold a candle to it."

"Well, that's definitely not the case now," Ginny stated flatly. "Another thing Dumbledore has let get screwed up. But do we know anything about this person that the Ministry is going to appoint to teach?"

"No, Dumbledore didn't have a clue who they were going to use," Tonks replied.

"We really need a contact in the Ministry," Sirius fretted. "I've managed to make connections with a few people, but they are strictly low ranking ones. We need someone close to Fudge."

"Would these contacts you've made be young, attractive witches who just happen to have Ministerial jobs?" Ginny asked with a smirk.

"They might be," Sirius replied loftily. "I can't help it if woman are captivated by my good looks and charm."

"Then why haven't you been out on a date with any of these women?" Harry asked. "I haven't seen you go out of an evening since I moved in here."

"I just haven't met a girl I really like yet," Sirius said defensively.

"My, how the times have changed," Remus grinned. "It used to be that if a girl had a pulse she was good enough for you."

"I was young and we were in a war," Sirius replied defensively. "I have matured a bit since then, you know."

"Matured? You? Oh, my poor heart!" Tonks exclaimed, before pretending to faint.

"Laugh if you must, but I have responsibilities now and I'm not going to neglect them by spending all my time chasing muff," Sirius snapped.

"Crude, but to the point," Remus laughed. "Seriously, my friend, your attitude does you credit."

"Thank you," Sirius replied. "Now can we please press on?"

Ginny happened to glance over at Harry and noticed him looking at his godfather with a worried expression on his face. She resolved to ask him what had upset him later.

"Okay," Tonks agreed. "Dumbledore is still extremely worried about Harry's safety here. In fact, he's assigned Order members to watch the house."

"What?" Sirius bellowed.

"Oh, yes," Tonks confirmed. "I happen to know that Sturgis Podmore is outside keeping watch on this place even as we speak with orders to follow anyone who emerges."

"Is Dumbledore a complete idiot?" Sirius raged. "What's the point of putting the house under a Fidelius Charm if he's going to station his boot-lickers right outside? He might as well just stick up a bloody signpost!"

"If it's any consolation, a lot of people were unhappy with Albus's orders," Tonks explained before turning to Ginny. "Your mum in particular thought it was a stupid idea. She very loudly stated that Sirius was doing a wonderful job in looking after Harry and should be left alone to get on with it."

"My mum said that?" Ginny asked in shock. "Good old Mum! It looks like she'd finally realised that the sun doesn't shine out of Dumbledore's arse at last."

"Either that or she's hoping Sirius will kiss her again," Harry sniggered.

"As long as Molly Weasley continues to bake me those superb coffee and walnut cakes, I will continue to kiss her," Sirius declared defiantly.

"After all those lectures about proper behaviour, my mother ensnares a younger man through her cookery skills," Ginny sighed tragically. "What will I tell Dad?"

"They could always share her," Harry said pointedly. Ginny just winked at him.

"Okay, we're going to have to be careful when one of us leaves the house," Sirius said, getting the meeting back on track. "If possible, we use the Floo to travel, but if that's not practical, we will Apparate from the doorstep. That's still within the cover of the Fidelius Charm but outside the Anti-Apparation Wards."

"I think it's time that I learnt to Apparate," Harry decided. "I'm the only one who can't do it at the moment."

"Excellent idea, Harry," Remus agreed. "In fact, we'll start tomorrow."

"Yes, you won't be able to apply for a licence until you're seventeen, but it's still a vital skill to learn. Anyone got anything else they want to discuss?" Sirius asked.

"Actually, I've had an idea about who we could potentially use as a spy within the Ministry," Ginny piped up.

"Who?" Tonks asked with interest.

"Percy," she replied.

"Percy?" Harry repeated in disbelief. "He won't help us. He's a Ministry man through and through. Percy would sooner cut off his right goolie than betray Fudge."

"Well, I wasn't suggesting that he would do it willingly," Ginny responded. "I'm sure my brother has all sorts of dirty little secrets that we could dig up if we search hard enough."

"Blackmail?" Remus gasped. "You'd blackmail your own brother?"

"I'll have you know that blackmail is a Weasley tradition," Ginny sniffed. "I've got dirt on every single one of my brothers, to some degree. Growing up in the Burrow it was a basic survival tool. If I didn't have a few juicy little titbits on the twins, for example, I'd probably have been pranked to oblivion by now."

"This isn't about pranks or games," Sirius pointed out. "If we're going to blackmail a member of the Ministry we will need something pretty nasty to make it work. Percy would be looking at solid time in Azkaban if he's caught dishing out Fudge's dirty little secrets. We'd need something so damning that it would make him take that risk."

"I'm sure someone that close to Fudge has something to hide," Tonks stated. "Let's face it, half the Ministry are on the take, and the other half would be as well if they had the chance. There must only be a handful of honest people in the whole building."

"I think it would be worth doing a bit of digging," Ginny insisted. "He has a flat over in Graphorn Street; we could try staking that out for a while."

"Graphorn Street? Property around there is very pricy," Sirius noted. "In fact, I would have thought a flat in that area was out of the price range of a Junior Assistant, even one appointed to the Minister himself. Hmm, let me do a bit of asking round before we start camping out on his doorstep. I might be able to find something useful."

The meeting broke up at that point and they all went their separate ways. Ginny was due to head back to the Burrow shortly, but she decided to question her boyfriend before she left.

"Harry, I couldn't help but notice that you looked a bit concerned about Sirius earlier. Is anything wrong?" she asked him after they had slipped into his bed room for a bit of privacy.

"Well, I am a bit worried about him, yes," Harry admitted. "It's like I said earlier; he never goes out at night. All the stories I've heard about him from Remus and Tonks picture him as a bit of a party animal and a real ladies man. But since I've moved in here he hasn't been out on a date or even out to the pub once. I keep telling him that he's welcome to go out and enjoy himself once in a while, but he doesn't seem interested. Remus even offered to stay in and keep me company, but he still declined. It's not like he's not interested, either. When we've been out and about during the day, I've seen him eyeing up loads of girls; both witches and Muggles. But even when a girl's given him the eye or flirted a bit with him, he doesn't do anything about it. If I didn't know better I would think he was shy!"

"That doesn't sound like Sirius at all," Ginny admitted. "Do you think he's secretly in love with someone and they're not interested or something?"

"I don't think so," Harry said thoughtfully. "I mean, I caught him looking at enough different girls over the last month. If he has seen someone he likes he's keeping it well hidden. But I'm starting to get a bit worried about him, Ginny. If truth be told, I think he's lonely."

"He has you and Remus," Ginny pointed out.

"Yes, but I think he's craving a bit of female company, if you know what I mean," Harry explained. "I have you and Remus, if he ever gets his head out of his arse, has Tonks. I think he wants a girlfriend himself, but just doesn't do anything to get one."

"You know, there might be an explanation for this," Ginny pondered. "Sirius was in Azkaban for an awfully long time. That place changes people. It could be that after being stuck in that hellhole for so long he's lost a lot of his old confidence."

"I must admit that was what I was afraid of," Harry admitted. "He never talks about Azkaban, ever. I'm starting to think that after being alone and miserable for so long he's having trouble even thinking about a relationship. I think prison has screwed him up."

"He'll never admit it, of course," Ginny sighed. "Look, whatever else, Sirius is amazingly level-headed considering the amount of time he was in Azkaban. I expect he just needs time to adjust. It's still early days, after all. Just be there for him and if you can give him a gentle nudge in the direction of a pretty girl from time to time, do so. Just don't push him too hard and give him space."

"Yeah, you're right," Harry agreed sadly.

"Of course, I'm always right," Ginny grinned. "Now, I think I have about a quarter of an hour before I need to go home. What can we do to kill the time now that we're alone in your bedroom here?"

"Exploding Snap?" Harry suggested innocently. "Gobstones? Scrabble?"

"What's Scrabble?" Ginny asked mystified.

"Oh, it's a great game," Harry said slipping his arm around her. "You have all these tiles with letters on them and you have to arrange them into words. If you get a really good word then the other player has to take off an item of clothing…"

Ginny grinned.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"Mr Weasley?" a woman's voice asked nervously.

"Yes," a male voice replied quietly. "You must be Lady Elphick."

"Indeed," the middle-aged woman confirmed. "Do you think we can go inside? We're rather exposed out here."

"Of course," Weasley replied and held the door open for the woman. She paused in the doorway and looked apprehensively around her before she entered.

Quickly, Harry and Ginny darted through the open door as the woman stood looking about. The Invisibility Cloak covered the both of them completely and the Silencing Spell prevented their footfall from being heard.

"First room on the right," Weasley called from the doorway.

Nodding in understanding, the woman made her way to the door indicated and opened it. Cautiously, she let it swing open and hesitated before she entered. By the time she started to move, Harry and Ginny were already in the room and had retreated to a quiet corner.

Weasley entered and closed the door firmly behind him. He then pulled out his wand and cast several Locking and Anti-Eavesdropping Charms. Satisfied, he turned to the woman.

"Please, take a seat, Lady Elphick," he said.

The woman did as she was asked and sat whilst looked around her warily.

"Please, Lady Elphick, there's no cause for concerned," the red-haired man assured her. "This is a simply transaction which will be completed before you know it."

"This is not my preferred way of doing things," the woman replied.

"Of course not, but it is a method that has been in place for hundreds of years," Weasley responded, "and it's a system that works. The Ministry is a large and sometimes bureaucratic machine, and occasionally it requires its wheels to be greased to run smoothly."

"Quite," the woman replied distantly. "If we could just get this over with please, I've a rather important engagement that I must attend tonight."

"Naturally," Weasley said smiling in a rather forced manner. "I believe your contact mentioned my price…"

The woman reached into her robes and removed a small moneybag which she placed on the table in front of her.

"Four hundred Galleons," she stated. "It's all there."

Weasley said nothing but firstly cast a number of Detection Charms on the bag before he reached out and picked it up. Opening the bag, he removed several of the gold coins and examined them closely. All the while, the woman glared at him.

"My apologises, Lady Elphick," Weasley said after he'd pocketed the bag. "Unfortunately, rank and wealth don't always guarantee honestly. I've been handed bags with Confundus Charms cast on them before."

"I trust everything is in order," the woman said coldly.

"Quite," Weasley smiled.

"And you can guarantee that the amendment will be presented to the Wizengamot before the end of August?" Lady Elphick pressed. "I stand to lose a great deal of money if that restrictive clause is still in the trade agreement."

"I can assure you that the proposals will be in the Minister's in-tray tomorrow morning," Weasley assured her. "It will be signed-off before lunch, and I can add it to the Wizengamot's itinerary before the day is through. I guarantee your amendment will be passed before the week is out."

"Thank you," Lady Elphick replied, looking visibly relieved. "You must think me terrible silly to get worked up about this. I expect this is something of a regular occurrence to you, isn't it?"

"Let's just say my services are in great demand, shall we?" Weasley said smugly. "Right, if there is nothing else you require, I will bid you good day."

"Actually, there is something else I require," Lady Elphick stated.

"Oh, what might that be?" Weasley enquired.

"For you to sit down and shut the hell up, you crooked bastard. _Expelliarmus!_"

With a simple flick of the wrist, a wand appeared in Lady Elphick's hand and she quickly disarmed the shocked young man. He stared at her in horror.

"What in Merlin's name do you think you're doing?" he spluttered.

"Why, I'm setting you up, my dear Percy," the woman replied. Then, as she sat there with her wand levelled at him, her features began to morph. Where one second before had sat a stern, middle-aged woman with brown hair, there now sat a much younger woman with a heart-shaped face and bright pink hair.

"Tonks!" Percy exclaimed. "What the hell are you playing at?"

"Shut it, Percy," Tonks growled. "In case you didn't notice, you've just been caught red-handed accepting bribes to influence Ministerial procedures. You, my friend, are in a world of shit."

"You'll never make those charges stick," Percy raged. "Half the Ministry accept payments of this nature and if you think they'll let you get this to trial your crazy!"

"Just as well we're not going to take it to trial, then," Ginny said clearly.

The effect of hearing his sister's disembodied voice on Percy was amusing, to say the least. He jumped to his feet and managed to knock the chair he'd been sitting on flying. He then stood rooted to the spot, looking wildly around him with an expression of complete bemusement on his face.

Ginny let the Invisibility Cloak fall to the ground. She had her wand levelled squarely at her bother while Harry held a strange silver object not unlike a large camera.

"Hi, Percy," Harry greeted the young man happily. "Do you recognise what this is? Of course you do, it's a magical recording device. And did you know I've had it pointed at you all through your conversation with 'Lady Elphick' here?"

"Just imagine what would happen if we sent those recorded images to the Daily Prophet?" Ginny grinned. "The Junior Assistant to the Minister of Magic, caught taking bribes. Oh, that wouldn't do your career much good, would it?"

"The Ministry would hang you out to dry," Tonks speculated smugly. "I'd guess at a few years in Azkaban at least. Even when you were released I can't imagine you'd ever get a decent job again. In fact, you'd be lucky to get a job shovelling shit at a Hippogriff sanctuary."

"What the hell are you doing here, Ginevra?" Percy spat. "What sort of stupid game do you think you're playing here?"

"No game, brother dear," Ginny said coldly. "From this moment on you work for us."

"Work for you… have you gone mad?" Percy gasped.

"Not at all," Ginny informed him. "You are now officially our eyes and ears in Fudge's office and if we even suspect you are lying to us or withholding information, we will ruin you."

"In fact, before we part company today you will give us a Magical Oath to disclose all useful information to us in a timely manner," Harry added.

"I certainly will not!" Percy spat.

"Oh, dear," Ginny lamented. "It will be such a disappointment for Mum and Dad to see your name in the papers. Even if you are a stuck-up tosspot, they at least had the comfort of knowing you were successful in your chosen career. Now it looks like even that's gone."

"Wait! I… bloody hell, Ginevra! What are you trying to do to me?" Percy demanded.

"It's nothing personal, Percy," Ginny assured him. "It's just that you have information we need. Dumbledore is going senile and Fudge is an incompetent crook. We don't intend to be pushed around by either of them, so we need to know what they are doing. And you, Percy dear, will be our spy in the Ministry."

"It doesn't look like I have much choice, does it?" Percy growled.

"Nope, none at all," Tonks chirped.

"Fine, I'll give you your bloody vow, but only to provide information. I refuse to do anything that will harm the Ministry," Percy insisted.

"Information is all we want, Percy," Harry confirmed.

The vow was quickly given and afterwards Percy sank back into his chair and held his head in his hands.

"I can't believe I've been blackmailed by my own sister," he sobbed. "This is your doing, Potter, you bastard, isn't it?"

"Actually, the idea was all mine," Ginny told him. "Come on, Percy, you remember how it used to be. I remember you blackmailing Charley about that broken window. This is the same thing, just on a larger scale."

"This is nothing like that, at all! You don't threaten to get family members thrown in Azkaban, Ginevra!" he raged.

"Oh, you've decided that you're part of the family again, have you?" she replied sarcastically. "How convenient."

"Just tell me what you want," Percy said miserably.

"Okay, what we want to know first is who the Ministry are going to appoint to teach at Hogwarts and what's their agenda?" Ginny asked.

"Oh, Dolores has agreed to take on the role," Percy said in surprise. "There's going to be a public announcement about it any day."

"Dolores? What, Dolores Umbridge?" Tonks asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Percy confirmed. "The Minister is convinced Dumbledore is trying to oust him from power and Dolores has agreed to go to Hogwarts and try and find evidence of this. Of course, she will also be investigating the reports of sub-standard teaching there, as well."

"Blimey, Percy! It's only been a couple of years since you were at Hogwarts yourself. You didn't complain about it then," Ginny pointed out.

"Nevertheless, I do believe standards could be massively improved at the school," Percy replied pompously. "The only reason I did so well was through all the extra work I undertook myself. The Minister strongly feels things need to be tightened up and the deadwood cut away."

"Bloody hell, I actually agree with Fudge about something," Harry said in shock.

"Law of probabilities, Harry," Tonks laughed. "It had to happen sooner or later."

"You were happy enough to give the Minister your full support a month ago," Percy said pointedly.

"Expediency," Ginny shrugged. "It was the only way to ensure Sirius Black got a fair trial."

"Yes, I had to suck up to Fudge just so an innocent man could get a fair hearing. Don't forget that, Percy," Harry pointed out.

Percy nodded but looked uneasy. "Is that all you want to know?" he asked.

"Not hardly, Percy," Ginny smirked. "We also want you to keep a record of the bribes that Fudge is accepting and what little favours he's granting in exchange. We're particularly interested in in any bribes made by former Death Eaters."

"Particularly if their name happens to be Lucius Malfoy," Harry added.

"Malfoy? But he was cleared of being a Death Eater. He's a fine, upstanding member of society," Percy protested.

"Malfoy was the evil bastard who planted that enchanted diary on Ginny," Harry growled. "He tried to kill your sister, or don't you care about that?"

"What?" yelped Percy. "Is this true, Ginevra?"

"Yes, it's true," Ginny confirmed quietly.

"Then why hasn't he been arrested?" Percy demanded. "He should be put on trial immediately!"

"Do you really think Minister Fudge is going to risk losing his biggest financial contributor?" Tonks snorted. "He's already handed the stuck-up bastard a blanket pardon for being a Death Eater, you don't seriously believe Fudge would risk losing all those juicy bribes just because some little girl was slipped a magical diary, do you?"

"But… but…" Percy spluttered, clearly struggling to think of a counter-argument.

"Lucius could murder half the Wizengamot right in front of Fudge and as long as he got paid, your precious Minister would turn a blind eye," Harry spat.

"Percy, all we're asking you to do is keep track of what bribes Malfoy pays the Minister and for what purpose. If it's all above board, then Fudge has nothing to worry about, has he?" Ginny said reasonably.

"I guess not," Percy sighed. "It's not like I have a choice in this anyway, do I? Very well, I'll monitor Lucius Malfoy's activities within the Ministry. I'm responsible for much of the Minister's private bookkeeping so it shouldn't be too hard."

"Thanks, big brother," Ginny replied warmly.

For the first time in months, Percy smiled at his sister.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"How did it go?" Sirius asked the second they arrived back at Grimmauld Place.

"Not too shabby," Tonks grinned. "In the end, I think Percy Weasley was actually quite willing to help us."

"Yeah, Percy might be willing to accept a few bribes here and there, but I think he's basically still a pretty decent person," Ginny said thoughtfully. "He seemed to be really shocked when he found out what Lucius Malfoy did to me."

"I think you're right," Harry agreed. "Deep down he's still a Weasley, no matter how much he tries to deny it."

"Maybe he's not totally lost to the family," Ginny said hopefully.

"So, we got our spy within the Ministry? Excellent!" Sirius noted. "Did you learn anything of immediate value?"

"Yes, the name of the person the Ministry is sending to Hogwarts next term: Dolores Umbridge," Ginny said.

"I know the name," Sirius noted, "but nothing much about her."

"I do," Tonks announced. "She's currently Special Assistant to the Minister. She's legendary within the Ministry. She's an ugly, petty-minded, vindictive, mean, bureaucratic, racist bitch, and those are her good points. She was the one behind all that anti-werewolf legislation a few years back."

"Sounds charming," Sirius grimaced. "So why do you think she's been sent to Hogwarts?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ginny exclaimed. "This Umbridge woman is obviously being sent to try and undermine Dumbledore. The question is: do we care?"

"Let's not be too rash here, Ginny," Sirius noted. "This woman sounds like a nasty piece of work and we might end up not liking her influence on the school."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Tonks agreed. "It's not just werewolves that she hates. I've heard she's a bit of a blood-supremacist, as well. I can't see her taking to the Muggle-born pupils at the school, at all."

"Great, sounds like another year with a cracking Defence teacher," Harry moaned, "just what we need. Honestly, I could do better than most of the teachers we've had, Remus excluded."

"Oh, Professor Potter; I like the sound of that," Ginny giggled. "Please, sir! I've been a bad girl and need to be punished. Will you give me detention?"

"Focus, please!" Sirius said loudly. "Can we get through this meeting first? You and Harry can go and play naughty schoolgirls later, Ginny."

"Sounds like fun," Harry whispered into Ginny's ear. She just smirked at him.

"So, what do you suggest we do about Umbridge, then?" Tonks asked Sirius. "Do we leave her to get on with things or do we try and take her down?"

"Neither, I propose we use her," Sirius explained.

"Trust me, Sirius, if you'd ever seen the woman you would have no intention of wanting to use her," Tonks shuddered.

"Not like that! Merlin, why has everyone got their mind in the gutter today?" Sirius said irritably. "What I was suggesting was that if the woman is as prejudiced and judgemental as she sounds, we can use that to our advantage. Her primary mission is probably to disrupt Dumbledore's power base and if we make a few 'helpful' suggestions I'm sure we can get her to make a few changes WE approve of."

"Like what?" Harry asked.

"Loosening Dumbledore's control over you, for a start," Sirius noted. "We could probably arrange for a few of the more suspect teachers at Hogwarts to be investigated, too. Snape's the obvious candidate in that category, although Binns and Trelawney might benefit from the chance to explore new employment opportunities, as well."

"We'll have to be careful," Ginny pointed out. "I know Hagrid is Dumbledore's man, but I really wouldn't want him to get the sack. As much as I like him, he's not the greatest teacher in the world, is he?"

"We might be able to use that against Dumbledore," Harry pointed out. "After all, he has a habit of appointing unqualified teachers, doesn't he? We could paint Hagrid as a knowledgeable teacher who's never received the proper training to do his job. It wouldn't be his fault then, would it? It would be Dumbledore's for not arranging it."

"Good thinking, Harry," Sirius congratulated his godson. "I think we should also get Percy Weasley to try and dig up some dirt on Umbridge, too. We might need some leverage over her."

"Do you think Harry should arrange a meeting with Umbridge before school starts?" Ginny suggested. "It would give us a chance to find out what she's like and perhaps colour her perceptions a bit."

"Also a good idea," Sirius said approvingly. "Oh, I do love it when you two are being sneaky. It positively makes me glow with pride!"

"How did you manage to get Sorted into Gryffindor, Sirius?" Tonks laughed. "You're a born Slytherin if I ever saw one."

"What? And have to share a dormitory with Severus Snape? Unthinkable!" Sirius exclaimed. "Imagine having to see him walking around in his underwear every morning? Ugh!"

"Thanks for putting that image into my head, Sirius," Ginny groaned. "If we're done here, Harry and I are going to go and finish reading that Charms book Remus brought us."

"Yes, carry on," Sirius confirmed. "I'm going to pop over to the Ministry and see if I can set up an appointment with Madam Umbridge."

"Yes, I need to make a move, too," Tonks said. "I'll see you all later, gang."

After they had said goodbye to Tonks, Harry and Ginny started to make their way up to the library. They had just started to head up the stairs when Ginny felt Harry tug at her sleeve.

"Err, Ginny?" he said nervously. "I don't suppose you do happen to have your school robes handy do you?"

Ginny sniggered. Obviously, Harry did like the idea of playing naughty schoolgirls.

"Oh, I'm sorry, sir," she said in her best little-girl voice. "All my school things are in the wash."

"Tut-tut, Miss Weasley," Harry replied in a fair impression of a disapproving Professor. "That means you are improperly dressed. I'll have to punish you for that."

"Oh, sir! You're not going to spank me, are you?" Ginny wailed unconvincingly.

"It really will be for your own good, Miss Weasley," Harry smirked lecherously.

"You'll have to catch me first, Potter!" Ginny declared before sprinting up the stairs.

Harry gave a cry and started to run after her. It was probably pure chance that Ginny chose to run towards Harry's bedroom in her attempt to get away, or that she didn't actually seem to be running that fast.

Probably chance, anyway.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Ginny looked around the kitchen of the Burrow with a happy smile on her face. She couldn't believe it was her birthday already. It had only seemed like five minutes ago that she'd stepped of the Hogwarts Express, yet her summer holiday was already more than half over.

As it was a beautiful August day, her birthday party was being held outside, with the kitchen being set aside for food and drink. Ginny was loitering here to greet her guests as they arrived and to direct them out into the garden where tables and chairs had been set up. She couldn't help but feel a swell of happiness at all the effort her family had put in to celebrate her fourteenth birthday. Well, most of them, anyway.

She scowled in the direction of her brother Ron, who was currently standing on the far side of the kitchen demolishing a plate of sandwiches with the help of his best friend Neville. Ron had insisted that his friend be allowed to come or, he had petulantly informed their parents, he would not take part in the party. Arthur and Molly had caved in to  
the boy's demands, which was why the two ill-mannered idiots were currently doing their best to demolish the buffet before half the guests had arrived. Morons.

"Ignore them," Hermione advised her, having obviously seen the direction she was looking. "There's no sense starting a fight already."

"But that food is meant to be for everyone," Ginny growled. "The way those two are going there won't be anything left for the guests!"

"Ginny," Hermione replied in amusement, "your mother made the food for this party. Do you really think there won't be enough to go round? I prophesise that nobody will leave here today without being first stuffed to the gills!"

"I thought you dropped Divination," Ginny joked, but she acknowledged her friend had a point. Her mum would no doubt have made enough food to feed a small army, even if her gluttonous brother was one of them.

"Harry's a bit late, isn't he?" Hermione asked. "I would have thought he would have made an effort to be here early."

"I don't think Harry is the problem," Ginny grinned. "Sirius is incapable of being on time for anything. I'm sure he's insisted that they turn up fashionably late and Harry is currently trying to drag him into the Floo!"

As if summoned by the very thought of him, the Floo suddenly flared with green light and Harry stumbled out, although he managed to stay on both feet, fortunately. A few seconds later, Sirius followed him with a great deal more grace.

Ginny's eyes travelled up and down her boyfriend. He was, as always these days, immaculately dressed in an expensive plum-coloured shirt with a black waistcoat embroidered in gold and dark-blue trousers. He had let his raven-black locks grow, possibly in imitation of his godfather, and the extra weight at least meant that he didn't look like he'd just been dragged through a haystack. All in all, he looked good enough to eat.

"Ginny!" Harry called as he caught sight of her. "I'm sorry we're late. Someone couldn't decide on what shirt to wear…"

"It's Ginny's birthday, Harry. She deserves to see me looking my best," Sirius objected before turning his attention to her. "Happy Birthday, you beautiful young creature, you. Has my ignorant godson told you how ravishing you look?"

"I've only just got here!" Harry protested.

"It should have been the first thing you said upon your arrival," Sirius informed him haughtily, before placing a kiss on top of Ginny's head and thrusting a small, garishly-wrapped box into her hands. "A small token of my affection. Just a little something that will enhance your already wondrous beauty. Hello, Hermione, how are you?"

"I'm very well, thank you, Sirius," Hermione replied in amusement.

"Excellent, excellent," Sirius noted in a somewhat distracted tone as he looked around the kitchen. "And what a fine feast Molly has laid on for us. Err, is that all the drinks there are?"

"My dad is looking after the alcoholic drinks outside," Ginny told him knowingly.

"Ah, really? You know, it's been too long since I had a nice chat with Arthur. I must go and say hello. I'll leave you kids to it," Sirius called over his shoulder as he headed out the door.

"Don't get drunk and embarrass me!" Harry called after him, although if Sirius heard his words he didn't acknowledge them.

"Just which one of you two is meant to be the adult?" Hermione sniggered.

"I sometimes wonder," Harry muttered before turning towards his girlfriend. "Sorry about that, Ginny. Happy birthday and you do look absolutely great."

"Thank you, Harry," Ginny said, smiling warmly at him. In truth, the dress she was wearing was the only decent one she had and was definitely getting a bit tight around the chest area. She'd have to ask her mother to let it out a bit tomorrow.

"Anyway, I got you this. I hope it's okay," Harry continued and held out an envelope to her.

For a second, Ginny was slightly confused. A card? Harry had just got her a card and nothing else? Biting back a sharp pang of disappointment, she reached out and took the envelop from him. Carefully, she opened it and removed a simple greetings card emblazoned with the words 'Happy Birthday!" across it. She opened it and a slip of paper dropped out of it and fluttered to the floor.

"I've got it," Hermione announced and grabbed the slip of paper off the floor and handed it back to her. Ginny stared at the paper in confusion.

"It's a grift voucher for a Muggle clothing shop," Harry explained nervously. "Getting new clothes this summer meant an awful lot to me, and I wanted to do the same for you, but I haven't a clue as to what you'd like and what would fit you. I thought it would be better if you could choose what you wanted yourself. All you do is take this voucher to the shop and they'll sell you whatever you want up to the value of the voucher."

Ginny felt her eyes watering. The necklace she'd given Harry for his birthday wasn't much, but she'd spent ages looking for it. This gift was impersonal and probably took him all of five minutes to find. A minimum effort gift and required no thought at all. Was this a reflection on their relationship?

"Thank you, Harry," she said, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice. "I can always do with some new clothes. That's very kind of you."

"Oh. Umm… yeah. I'd better go and see how Sirius is doing," Harry mumbled before turning and walking rapidly out the kitchen door. Obviously she had been unsuccessful in hiding her feelings. She watched him leave with a sinking heart.

"Ginny, you do know exactly what Harry's given you there, don't you?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"Yeah, a gift he didn't have to bother picking out himself," Ginny noted with a slight edge of bitterness to her voice.

"Bollocks," Hermione declared forcefully.

"Eh?" Ginny exclaimed in surprise. She couldn't actually remember her straight-laced friend ever swearing before.

"Harry has been in a panic about getting you a present for weeks and, yes, I admit he's written to me several times about it. The idea about wanting to get you some nice clothes is his, though," Hermione said in her best 'lecture mode' tone of voice. "Getting rid of those awful rags the Dursleys forced on him meant the world to Harry. For the first time in his life someone actually cared enough about him that went out and bought him clothes that were actually for him, not just worn-out hand-me-downs. Sirius buying all those wonderful new clothes for him was one of the nicest things that has ever happened to Harry, and he wanted to do the same thing for you."

"Oh," Ginny muttered, suddenly understanding the significance of the gift.

"And tell me honestly, Ginny, would you really trust any boy, let alone Harry, to pick clothes out for you?" Hermione continued.

"I guess not," Ginny acknowledged. "So, where is this place, anyway? I've never heard of this shop."

"It's only one of the most exclusive and wonderful boutiques in the whole of London!" Hermione exclaimed. "I would kill to be able to spend that amount in that shop!"

Ginny looked again at the voucher in her hand. She frowned at the numbers written on it, trying to figure out exactly what she'd been given.

"Do you even know the exchange rate between Pounds and Galleons?" Hermione asked quizzically.

"Err, not really," Ginny admitted.

"It's about five Pounds to a Galleon," Hermione explained.

Ginny looked down at the voucher again and did some brief mental arithmetic. Then she did the sum again. And again. She came up with the same answer each time.

"Are you telling me Harry has just given me one thousand Galleons worth of clothes?" Ginny shrieked, before clamping her hand over her mouth. In the corner, Ron and Neville had both looked over at her suspiciously.

"Yes, yes he has," Hermione laughed. "The shop is pretty expensive, but I should imagine you'll be able to get a few nice things there. Actually, if you stay away from the designer labels you'll probably be able to replace your entire wardrobe."

"I can't accept this!" Ginny hissed. "It's too much! Mum will have a fit if she sees this."

"Then don't show it to her," Hermione shrugged. "But you'll have to accept it. If you give that back to Harry you'll break his heart. He dragged Sirius halfway across London trying to decide what shop you would like the best, and he told me he'd seen loads of things he thought you'd you great in at this place."

Ginny stared at the voucher in her hand in amazement. Merlin, how wrong had she been about Harry's gift?

"Besides, Harry's a very wealthy wizard now. He told me that Sirius took him to Gringotts and they explained exactly what he's due to inherit when he turns seventeen and apparently it's quite a substantial sum. Add to that he's heir to the Black fortunate now and they're one of the wealthiest families in the country. Harry just wanted to share his good fortune with you," Hermione explained.

"Why didn't he mention any of this to me?" Ginny protested.

Hermione looked uncomfortable for a second. "Well, money is always a bit of an issue for your family, isn't it? I sort of got the impression that Harry didn't want you to treat him any differently now he was rich."

"But I knew he had money before and I didn't make an issue of it," Ginny complained. "Besides, I'm not over-sensitive about the issue like my idiot bother over there."

"Maybe," Hermione shrugged, "but he just didn't want to draw attention to the issue."

"Then perhaps he shouldn't have given me a voucher worth a small fortune for my birthday," Ginny pointed out.

"I was just pointing out Harry was rather worried about it," Hermione smirked. "I didn't say he was logical."

"Hey, what's going on?" a voice called.

"Oh, hi, Tonks," Hermione greeted the young woman who had just entered the kitchen. "I didn't know you were here already."

"Yeah, I've been here a while," Tonks replied. "I just came in to find out why the birthday girl is lurking in the kitchen and, more to the point, why her boyfriend is outside looking like he wants to go and jump off a cliff."

"Oh, Merlin!" Ginny exclaimed. "Harry probably thinks I hated his gift. He probably thinks I'm going to break-up with him or something stupid."

"Calm down and don't be so melodramatic," Hermione scolded her. "All you need to say to him is that you didn't understand what the gift actually was and everything will be fine."

"Why? What did Harry get you, Ginny?" Tonks asked.

Ginny held up the voucher and was amused to see the pink-haired girl's eyes bulge.

"Merlin's balls!" Tonks exclaimed. "I know that shop: it's fantastic! If a boy gave me a voucher to spend that much in that shop, I swear, I'd be doing things to him to make him think it was his birthday, not mine!"

"Mrs Weasley might not approve of Ginny doing anything like that in front of all these guests," Hermione smirked.

"Yeah, but I might just do it later," Ginny smiled.

"Oh, when are you going shopping, Ginny? Can I come, too?" Tonks asked excitedly.

"I must admit, I'd love to come and see what you get, as well," Hermione smiled.

"Great! We'll have a girls' day out," Ginny said enthusiastically. "Mum will be much happier about me going with you there, Tonks, and I'll need your help navigating around a Muggle shop, Hermione."

"Fantastic, we'll shop till we drop and then go and get dinner somewhere nice," Hermione suggested.

"Sounds brilliant," Tonks agreed. "I can't wait."

"Me neither," Ginny agreed before turning sombre. "Now if you ladies will excuse me, I think I need to go and do some serious sucking-up to my boyfriend."

"That's exactly what I was suggesting," Tonks smirked suggestively.

"Mind. Gutter. Out," Ginny told the older girl with a laugh.

Ginny made her way outside, ignoring the giggles of her two friends and the angry glances her brother was sending in her direction. She stepped out into the glorious afternoon sunshine and looked about. She soon located Harry, standing morosely with a bottle of butterbeer in his hand. Sirius was standing next to him, looking at his godson with a worried expression on his face. Ginny fought down a stab of guilt and hurried over to them.

As she approached, Sirius looked up and saw her coming. He looked at her with a questioning expression on his face, but Ginny merely put a finger to her lips to silence him and approached Harry from behind.

"There you are," Ginny announced as she slipped her arms around Harry's middle. "Sorry I've been neglecting you, I just got talking with the girls. Hermione and Tonks have volunteered to come and help me pick out all the wonderful new clothes that I'm going to be getting soon."

Harry, who had nearly dropped his drink when she'd unexpectedly hugged him, squirmed around until he was facing her. "That's good," he said warily. "Err, does this mean you like your present?"

"Are you kidding? Tonks was practically green with envy. In fact, she was suggesting I should perform all manner of lewd acts on you to show my appreciation," Ginny said, grinning as her boyfriend turned a bright shade of red and glanced at his godfather nervously.

"I think that's my signal to go and get another drink," Sirius announced before leaning in and whispering to Harry, "I told you that you were worrying for nothing."

"Thanks heavens you like your gift," Harry said once Sirius had vanished. "I was worried it seemed a bit impersonal, but I really had no idea what I could buy you. I mean, you look great in everything I've ever seen you in and I didn't want to end up getting something that just wouldn't suit you, which I was bound to end up doing. I know nothing about clothes and…"

"Harry, you're babbling," Ginny interrupted him.

"Yeah, sorry. I guess I'm just so relieved that you like your present. I really thought for a moment that you hated it," Harry replied.

"I admit I didn't really understand what you'd given me when I first opened the card," she admitted. "However, I am slightly miffed at the amount of that voucher. You really shouldn't have spent that much on me. Honestly, Harry, I'd feel the same way about you if you just bought me a scarf or something, just as long as your gift comes from the heart."

"It does!" Harry insisted. "It's just you're so beautiful, Ginny, I wanted to give you beautiful things to wear, and I didn't trust myself to find them for you. Besides, the amount I've given you is a fraction of what Sirius spent on me and I don't give a hoot about the money, really, I…"

Ginny pressed a finger against Harry's lip to silence him. "Don't say the money means nothing because it does. Your parents left you that money to ensure your future and I'm sure they wouldn't want you blowing it all on your girlfriend."

"I wish they could have met you," Harry said quietly.

"And I wish I could have met them," she replied, her hand stroking his cheek. "They must have been wonderful people to have produced a son like you."

"I don't know about that," Harry snorted. "I imagine it sometimes, you know. Introducing you to them for the first time. I always like to imagine that my dad would have repeatedly said how pretty you are and my mum would have just taken to you instantly. Of course, I know so little about them I've no idea how they would react, but that's what I like to think would have happened. All I know about them is what Sirius and Remus tell me about them, and what they look like from the pictures in the album Hagrid gave me."

"I'd like to see some pictures of them sometime, if you don't mind?" Ginny asked him.

"Of course," Harry replied eagerly. "I didn't even realise that you'd never seen them before. But, come to think of it, I've never even really shown Hermione or Ron those pictures, either."

"Well, I'd love to see them," Ginny insisted. "You show me some photos of your parents and I'll let you off the hook for wasting all your money on me."

"Hardly wasting," Harry argued.

"You know what I mean," Ginny told him. "I'll put this down to a one-off splurge because you just found out how wealthy you are, but in future I'll be expecting something a bit more modest, okay?"

"Okay," Harry agreed.

"Oh, and by the way, I might just be performing some of those lewd acts that Tonks was describing on you, too," Ginny whispered in his ear.

Ginny couldn't help but laugh at the stunned expression that came onto Harry's face. How could a person look so embarrassed and yet so eager simultaneously?


	6. Chapter 6 – A Shroud of Deceit

**Chapter 6 – A Shroud of Deceit **

AN

Warning! Naughtiness ahead! While there's nothing graphic here, there is quite a lot of implied smuttiness. I've actually had a few people complaining that Ginny and Harry are acting a little... advanced… for their age, probably with good reason. I deliberately put Sirius's 'Merlin! You're not pregnant, are you, Ginny?' speech in chapter 2 for this very reason. Remember, fifteen is an accepted age for marriage in many parts of the world and has been lower than that in the not too distant past. If you think it would never happen in the civilised world I have three words for you: Jerry Lee Lewis.

Besides, Ginny has Tom's memories. While Riddle found love repulsive, I seriously doubt he was an innocent in the sex department. Indeed, I would imagine he would use sex as a tool to get what he wanted: look at the way he wrapped Hepzibah Smith around his finger when trying to get his hands on Hufflepuff's Cup. I doubt he would have had the confidence to do that unless he was 'experienced' shall we say. Ginny now has that knowledge.

The German language parts come courtesy of Google Translate and I'll put money on them being wrong. Still, in the context they are used I really don't think it matters. Finally, please don't think that in the end part I'm Molly-bashing. She's worried about all her children and is trying to do something to help her son. Please think of it in that context.

Huge thanks to Arnel for wading through my usual cock-ups and spelling errors. Personally, I'm blaming these prescription drugs I'm on. Who knew high blood pressure could be such fun?

* * *

"I must say how delighted I am to make your acquaintance, Mr Potter. Cornelius has told me so much about you," the woman said, oozing insincerity out of every pour of her body.

Ginny watched the smarmy, toad-like monstrosity that was currently sycophantically greeting Harry with something approaching revulsion. She had known Dolores Umbridge for approximately ten seconds and even that was too long.

"And of course, it's a wonderful to finally meet you, Mr Black. The Ministry was delighted to see you exonerated this summer."

"Why, thank you, Madam Umbridge. It was a fortunate for me that we have such a far-sighted and up-right Minister such as Cornelius Fudge, otherwise I might still be a wanted man," Sirius said graciously. Ginny noted Sirius's hands were clenched rather tightly while he said this.

"And I don't believe I'm familiar with this charming young lady," Umbridge said turning her attention to Ginny.

"Ginny Weasley," she introduced herself.

"Ah, yes, the rather sharp-witted young companion of Mr Potter. Cornelius mentioned you, too," Umbridge acknowledged. "I understand you're the daughter of Arthur Weasley over at Misuse of Muggle Artifacts?"

"Yes, Madam Umbridge," she confirmed politely. "My brother is the Junior Assistant to the Minister."

"Oh, of course. Young Percy mentions his family so infrequently I quite forgot the connection," Umbridge said. "Hopefully you'll be more inclined to follow your brother's career path rather than your father's."

"We're all immensely proud of Percy," Ginny replied through gritted teeth.

"Quite right. Well, as delightful as it is to meet you all, what is it that I can do for you?" Umbridge asked.

"A little bird has told us that you are to take a teaching position at Hogwarts next year…" Sirius began.

"Who told you that? That's classified information," Umbridge snapped, her veneer of politeness cracking.

"Oh, you know how efficient the Ministry's gossip machine is," Sirius said hastily. "It's fairly common knowledge that you're taking this position, I'm afraid."

Umbridge scowled. "Well, be that as it may, I suspect your visit here today will be a waste of time. Nothing you can say will dissuade me from taking this role and…"

"Madam Umbridge, you misunderstand me," Sirius interrupted. "The last thing we want to do is dissuade you from teaching at Hogwarts next year. Far from it, we think it's a marvellous idea!"

"You do?" Umbridge said, looking rather stunned "I would have thought that Professor Dumbledore would be firmly against my appointment."

"He probably is," Harry said. "We're not so convinced about his judgment these days."

"Yes, the Minister mentioned that you'd had something of a falling-out with Dumbledore," Umbridge said cautiously. "So, if you're not here to object to my appointment, may I ask what your purpose here today actually is?"

"Why, to offer our help and support, of course," Sirius declared brightly.

"Seriously, Madam Umbridge, we've become rather concerned at the slipping standards at Hogwarts," Harry said, repeating a line they had rehearsed earlier that morning. "There just seem to be a lot of questionable things going on."

"Indeed? Could you clarify some of these problems for me?" Umbridge asked rather eagerly.

"There are loads of issues," Harry exclaimed. "Let's start with the actual standard of teaching. I'm sure you are aware that in certain subjects Hogwarts has a very poor record. Defence Against the Dark Arts is a prime example. Dumbledore seems to think he can just stick anyone he finds in the teaching role and everything will be fine. Since I started school we've had a possessed Dark Wizard, a completely useless fake, a werewolf and a Death Eater in disguise. It's no wonder that the pass rate has plummeted!"

"Potions is another problem area," Ginny leapt in. "The present teacher might be a highly qualified Potions Master, but he has absolutely no skill as a teacher."

"The number of children leaving Hogwarts with a NEWT in Potions has dropped dramatically in recent years," Umbridge admitted.

"This is the very root of the problem about Dumbledore's recruitment policy," Sirius complained. "He might hire people who on paper are qualified at any given subject, but he provides no teacher training or support. Look at the poor Care of Magical Creatures teacher who has recently been appointed. The man has enormous knowledge of all manner of beasts, but he's never been taught how to present that knowledge or how to structure a class in his life. This sort of training is the responsibility of the Headmaster and he has been sorely lacking in this area."

By now Umbridge had started making notes at a furious rate. She looked up eagerly at Sirius. "Please do continue, Mr Black," she urged.

"Of course," Sirius smiled. "While there are many experienced and gifted teachers at Hogwarts, most of Dumbledore's recent appointments cause me concern. His laughable appointments to the Defence post are the most obvious, but Professor Snape, the Potions Master, is a relatively recent appointment, too. A pardoned Death Eater? I ask you, do you really think such a man should be teaching our children?"

"I think Dumbledore only hired him because Snape acted as a spy for him during the war," Ginny noted. "The Headmaster was rewarding his favourites."

"Cronyism," Umbridge declared, waving her quill about forcefully.

"Exactly," Sirius agreed. "The Divination Teacher is another baffling appointment. Apparently, every year, the woman predicts the death of one of the pupils in her class. Not the best way to establish a good teacher/pupil bond, I should say."

Umbridge was looking positively gleeful as she wrote down all of Sirius's comments.

"But the standard of teaching is only one problem area," Sirius continued. "Dumbledore seems to be very lax when it comes to the safety of pupils in his care, too. Are you aware that a fully grown troll got into the school during Harry's first year?"

"What?" Umbridge exclaimed in shock.

"It very nearly killed a friend of mine," Harry confirmed.

"Of course, there are other problems," Sirius said in a conspiratory tone. "Are you aware that the famous Philosophers Stone created by Nicholas Flamel was hidden at the school around the same time?"

"Yes, I was. However, the Ministry was only informed of this event after the stone was destroyed," Umbridge said in a disapproving tone. "I understand that the Defence teacher at the time was killed trying to steal it, correct?"

"Quiet true," Sirius confirmed. "Although there is evidence that Dumbledore might have been aware of the man's intentions from the start. But irrespective of that, what right has Dumbledore to bring a valuable object like that into a school when he would be fully aware that every unscrupulous wizard in the country would be after it? There had already been a break-in at Gringotts, why did he think a school full of innocent children would be a better place to store it? Did Dumbledore ask the School Board if it should be hidden at Hogwarts? As far as I can tell, he did not."

"He was clearly exceeding his authority!" Umbridge said triumphantly.

"Indeed, and what about that debacle with the Basilisk? Dumbledore's refusal to close the school put every child's life in risk and for what? The logical thing would have been to temporarily close the school so a full and thorough search could be made. But did Dumbledore do that? Oh, no! Just to preserve his little kingdom he put everyone within the school's life in danger. That's virtually criminal," Sirius declared.

"Totally irresponsible," Umbridge crowed.

"And I don't need to tell you about the events of last term," Sirius said grimly. "Dumbledore proved incapable of realising that one of his oldest friends had been replaced by an ex-Death Eater using Polyjuice. That madman nearly killed Harry!"

"I've been saying for ages that Dumbledore is going senile," Umbridge agreed.

"I should also probably mention Dumbledore's handling of Harry's affairs in more detail," Sirius said nodding at his godson. "You are aware that Harry was left with his Muggle relatives after his parents were killed."

"Indeed, hardly a fitting place for a young wizard who had just defeated You-Know-Who," Umbridge sniffed.

"I quite agree, but I'm afraid it was actually much worse than you may have heard. The Muggles in question hate magic with a passion and treated Harry worse than a house-elf! Think of that: the Boy Who Lived, virtually starved and treated as a slave! Poor Harry was made to wear rags and slept in a cupboard for ten years!"

"What?" Is this true, Mr Potter?" Umbridge shrieked in her annoying girly voice.

"Yes, it's true," Harry admitted quietly.

"Those filthy Muggle wretches!" Umbridge raged. "I shall have them arrested."

"But think who put Harry in that abusive environment," Sirius urged. "I know for a fact that Lily Potter never wanted her sister to ever come near Harry. No, the decision to place Harry with his Aunt was made by Albus Dumbledore with no thought to the wishes of his parents or legal validity. And once Harry was dumped in that hell-hole did Albus ever check up on him? No, he did not. Not once did he take the trouble to find out if Harry was alright. Hell, he didn't even bother to find out if his Aunt wanted him; Dumbledore just left him on their doorstep."

"Unbelievable! The man is a monster!" Umbridge yelped.

"Don't get me wrong," Sirius interrupted, "Albus Dumbledore has done many great things in the past, but it seems to me that his judgement has become increasingly suspect in recent years. I fear the last war just took too much out of him and he's been struggling ever since. It's time for him to hand over the reins of power and retire, I think."

"Sadly, I suspect that is the very last thing he will do," Umbridge said. "Between you and me, the Minister suspects Dumbledore of trying to overthrow him!"

"No!" Sirius exclaimed in mock outrage.

"I'm afraid so. The man is becoming quiet delusional in his old age and Cornelius fears he may be attacked at any time. Our intelligence informs us that Dumbledore has already formed his own private army and that he might be trying to do something similar with the older pupils at Hogwarts."

"Oh, no, I don't think he would do that," Ginny piped up. "In fact, he seems to do everything in his power to make sure all the pupils are practically helpless in a fight. That's the only explanation I can think of for him not hiring a decent Defence teacher for years."

"Yeah, maybe he's trying to limit the number of potential Auror recruits there are available," Harry agreed, picking up her idea and running with it. "That might explain the Potions situation, too. Potential Aurors need a NEWT in Defence and Potions, don't they?"

"Sweet Merlin, you're right!" Umbridge squeaked. "The number of successful applications to the Auror Department has dropped significantly in recent years. That scoundrel Dumbledore is trying to leave us defenceless!"

"Clever plan," Sirius noted. "By deliberately sabotaging the education of our young wizards and witches, Dumbledore nearly ensured that there wouldn't be enough loyal Ministry Aurors available to challenge any uprising he led. It's just as well you discovered this, Madam Umbridge."

"Oh, yes, thank you!" Umbridge twittered. "I must bring this to Cornelius's attention immediately."

"Then we will take up no more of your valuable time," Sirius said while rising to his feet.

"If there's anything Ginny and I can do to help next term you only have to ask," Harry added.

"Of course, you've been immensely helpful, Mr Potter, and I'm sure I would appreciate further help from both Miss Weasley and yourself," Umbridge simpered. "I'll be sure to seek you out as soon as I arrive at Hogwarts."

"I'll look forward to it," Harry lied like a pro.

"And if you need my assistance you have only to ask," Sirius said, stepping forward and kissing Umbridge's hand.

"Why, thank you, Mr Black," Umbridge gushed, "and may I say what a delight it's been to meet such a dignified pure-blood gentleman, such as yourself."

"Farewell, Dolores," Sirius said with a polite bow of the head, before opening the door to the office and ushering Harry and Ginny out. "I look forward to our next meeting."

The three of them walked rapidly down the pristine corridor and to the waiting lift. They took the short ride down to the Atrium where they took the Floo back to Grimmauld Place. Only when they were safely back at the house did they relax.

"Gah! I think I'm going to have to Scourgify my lips," Sirius moaned, whiping his mouth with his sleeve.

"You know, Sirius, after kissing that toad's hand you'll never have to prove your courage to me in any other way," Ginny smirked.

"Nah, I think he should have gone for the lips, personally," Harry grinned.

"I'm going to be sick!" Sirius yelled theatrically. "Dobby! Do we have any Firewhisky? I need to wash my mouth out immediately."

"We has many bottles of Firewhiskies," the little elf said in puzzlement. "You's is making me buy loads of the stuff."

"Good thing, too," Sirius declared. "This is an emergency. A bottle of the two hundred year old Ogden's, if you would be so kind, Dobby. For medicinal use only, of course."

"Of course," Harry said shaking his head. "So, how does everyone think that went?"

"Bloody brilliant!" Ginny exclaimed. "The bigoted, fat cow fell for it hook, line and sinker. She's going to be giving Dumbledore so many headaches next term that he won't have time to worry about what we're up to."

"You don't think we went too far?" Harry asked in a worried voice. "After all, we don't want Dumbledore thrown in Azkaban; he's too much of a deterrent to Voldemort and his followers."

"Relax, Harry," Sirius said as he clutched his first glass of Firewhisky of the day. "Umbridge will never be able to hang anything damning on Albus; he's far too much of a sly old fox to be caught by the likes of her. But we can keep the two of them at each other's throats and out of our way for a good, long while."

"I didn't like calling Remus 'a werewolf' like it was an insult, or something," Harry said sadly.

"Remus understands," Sirius disagreed. "Hell, he's a Marauder, remember? He appreciates the joke we're playing on Dumbledore and the Ministry as much as we do."

"I suppose," Harry said before he broke out into a smirk. "Do you think we can get Snape sacked next term?"

"I'll drink to that," Sirius declared, before downing his second glass of Firewhisky.

"We'll have to see," Ginny replied before grabbing Harry's arm. "Come on, Harry. I have no desire to watch your godfather drink himself into a stupor before lunch."

"You could join me," Sirius offered.

"Can you imagine what my mum would do to you, Sirius Black, if I staggered home tonight drunk?" Ginny said pointedly.

"Quiet right! Shame on you for suggesting it, Harry," Sirius said wagging his finger at his godson.

"What?" Harry exclaimed.

Ginny sniggered. "Come on, Harry. We can get an hour's duelling practice done before lunch. Sirius will probably be unconscious by the time we get back."

"Good thing, too," Harry muttered as they left the room.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"Right, have you got everything?" Tonks asked, handing Ginny a shopping bag.

"I think so," she confirmed. "The two bags I'm holding here are for the benefit of my mother and the other four bags are shrunken down and tucked away in my pocket."

"Great. Now remember, a simple tap with your wand will return the bags to normal size. All the magic is already done so you'll have no problems with performing underage magic," Tonks explained.

"Really, I don't know why you have to go to so much trouble," Hermione huffed.

"Trust me, Mum will have a fit if she realises just how much Harry spent on me for my birthday," Ginny told her friend. "It's just easier if we pretend I only got a few items."

"But Mrs Weasley will soon cotton on when she sees you wearing all these new clothes," Hermione pointed out.

"I don't think so," Ginny grinned. "Mum really hasn't a clue about Muggle fashion. Half this stuff will look identical to her. All she'll see is that the necklines are too low and the skirts are too short. She won't even notice that I'm wearing different things each time."

"I think you're right," Tonks laughed. "Molly is forever asking me if she's seen stuff I'm wearing before. I guess it all looks the same to her."

"Unbelievable," Hermione said shaking her head.

"Still, if you're mum does realise you've got all that stuff and complains, then you're welcome to give it to me," Tonks suggested. "I'd kill for some of those tops."

"Oh, yes! I'd happily take some of those blouses off your hands," Hermione added. "That light blue one was wonderful."

"Oi! Paws off!" Ginny laughed. "You'll just have to find yourselves your own ultra-rich bloke to treat you."

"Not much chance of that," Tonks said despondently. "Werewolves don't generally earn megabucks."

"And I found a rich and generous bloke, but he's in Bulgaria right now," Hermione said sadly.

Ginny's face fell. "Oh, Merlin! I'm sorry, you two! That was a really insensitive thing for me to say."

"Don't worry, Ginny. We know you didn't mean anything by it," Hermione assured her.

"Yeah, as long as you let me borrow that cool denim skirt you're total forgiven," Tonks added cheekily.

"You're both welcome to borrow whatever you want," Ginny laughed. "Wow, what a great day out this has been."

"Yes, it was fantastic to just have a girls only day," Hermione agreed. "I've never really had the chance to do that before."

"Yeah, I've had a great time," Tonks added. "We've got to do this again sometime soon."

"The new term starts in just a few weeks," Ginny lamented. "We'll have to arrange it during the next school holidays."

"Sounds good to me," Tonks agreed. "Right, I have places to go and people to see, so I'm making a move. You're coming with me, Hermione, aren't you?"

"Yes, if you could get me home that would be brilliant," Hermione smiled. "I'll see you soon, Ginny. We're still meeting up to get our school things, aren't we?"

"Absolutely, I'll let you know exactly which day as soon as I can," Ginny replied, hugging her two friends in turn.

After they left, Ginny turned and walked down the short path that led to the Burrow. She carefully schooled her features into her best 'lie to mother' expression as she entered through the back door. Predictably, Molly Weasley was in the kitchen working on something or other.

"Oh, hello, dear," she greeted her daughter. "Did you have a nice shopping trip?"

"Fantastic!" Ginny said enthusiastically. "I had a great time with the girls and picked up loads of cool stuff. It's amazing how much further your money goes in Muggle shops, you know."

"I'm glad to hear you enjoyed yourself," Molly told her. "I hope you managed to get some sensible clothes, though. Some of these Muggle fashion seem rather revealing to me."

"Mum!" Ginny moaned. "You'll only ever be happy if I'm wearing floor-length robes done up to the chin! Didn't you ever wear anything a bit skimpy when you were younger?"

"Never you mind what I wore," Molly said, not unkindly. "I just worry that you might get a reputation dressing in that manner."

"Really, Mum, you have nothing to worry about. If you did want to see someone who dresses like a harlot, you should see this girl called Lavender Brown who's in our house at school. She's an early bloomer in the chest department and seems to want to make sure everyone's aware of that fact."

"There's always one in every year like that. In my time there was this girl called Pamela Jennings. I never once saw the top three buttons of her blouse done up. She bent over in front of your father once and nearly gave him a heart attack," Molly huffed.

"Oh, poor dad! He must have been devastated," Ginny sniggered.

"He certain was after I was finished with him," Molly winked.

Ginny burst out laughing.

"Now, will you be wanting dinner this evening," Molly asked. "I know you said were going to get something while you were out."

"I've already eaten, thanks," Ginny replied. "Is it alright if I pop over to Harry's for an hour or so? I'd really like to show him one of the outfits I bought."

"Well, alright," her mother agreed reluctantly, "but I'd like to see this new outfit before you go out. I'll not have poor Sirius embarrassed by having my daughter turn up at his house dressed like a trollop."

"Mum!" Ginny protested. "The voucher Harry gave me was for a very classy shop. I assure you that everything I have in these two bags is very respectable, thank you!"

"Of course, dear," Molly smiled, "but I'd still like to see my little girl in her pretty new clothes."

"I'll be back down in a minute," Ginny promised before planting a kiss on her mother's cheek and bouncing up the stairs to her room.

She placed the two bags she had in her hands on the bed, before retrieving the other ones from her pocket. She returned them to normal size before stuffing them into the back of her wardrobe. While the two other bags might have only contained clothes that would meet her mother's approval, the others most certainly did not. She quickly selected the clothes she wanted to wear now and hurriedly changed before heading back downstairs.

"What do you think, Mum?" Ginny asked as she entered the kitchen.

Molly turned away from the sink at the sound of her daughter's voice. As soon as she caught sight of Ginny she gasped.

"Oh, Ginny! You look so grown-up," her mother cried. "Those clothes look wonderful on you."

"Really?" Ginny said dubiously. "It's just a simple skirt and blouse combination. It's nothing special really."

"It might be simple, but it makes you look so sophisticated, my love. Honestly, those colours really suit you," Molly gushed.

"If you say so," Ginny replied. In truth, she considered what she had on to be rather dull and she'd only picked out the clothes because she knew they were items her mother wouldn't object to.

"Just wait and see what Harry says when he sees you," Molly said knowingly.

Taking that as her cue, Ginny said her farewells to her mother and took the Floo to Grimmauld Place. The first person she encountered was Sirius.

"My word, Ginny," he commented as soon as he saw her. "You're looking very chic today. Planning on impressing someone, are you?"

"Well, I did think Harry should get to see what his cash had bought," she grinned.

"I'm sure he'll think its money well spent," Sirius informed her. "Actually, I think he could do with something to cheer him up. He seems to be in a bit of a gloomy mood today. He's up in his room."

"Thanks, Sirius," Ginny said and headed up the stairs to Harry's bedroom. She knocked lightly on the door and immediately she heard Harry's voice telling her to come in.

"Hi, handsome," she greeted her boyfriend as she entered. Harry was sitting on the end of his bed with a thick black book resting on his knees. His face lit up as soon as he saw her.

"Ginny! I wasn't expecting to see you today," Harry exclaimed happily. "Oh, wow! Did you get those clothes today? They look great!"

"Thank you," Ginny said. "Are you okay? Sirius said you weren't feeling too cheerful."

"I'm okay, I guess," Harry replied. "I just have the grumps today."

"What are you looking at?" she asked, indicating the book on his lap.

"Oh, this is the photo album Hagrid got for me a while back. If I ever start to feel a bit down I like to look through it. I've never shown it to you, have I?" Harry asked.

"No, you haven't," Ginny confirmed as she sat down next to him. She peered at one of the photos in the book. "Oh, is that your parents? You really do look like your dad, don't you?"

"That's what everybody tells me," Harry nodded.

"Hmm, I think you're more handsome, though," she said snuggling close to him. "You have those beautiful green eyes and your cheekbones are more defined."

"If you say so," Harry smirked. "I'm just relieved that you fancy me more than my dad!"

"Yeah, that would be a bit unfortunate, wouldn't it?" she laughed. "Your mum is really pretty, though. Another redhead, I see."

"Yeah, but her hair is more auburn, not bright red like yours. Mum was quite tall and willowy, too. And of course, she doesn't have those sexy freckles that you have," Harry said, wrapping his left arm around her.

"So, what you're saying is I don't look anything like your mum. Bearing in mind some of the things we get up to when we're alone, that's just as well, isn't it?" Ginny teased.

"Yeah, fancying a girl that looked like my mum would be a bit weird, wouldn't it?" Harry laughed.

"Too right!" she laughed. "But what got you so gloomy today? You were perfectly happy yesterday."

"I don't know, exactly," Harry replied thoughtfully. "I guess it's the thought of going back to Hogwarts soon. Normally, I can't wait to return, but this summer has been the best of my life by a long chalk. I don't want it to end, I suppose. I'm also a bit worried about Sirius being on his own. He drinks too much as it is, and he still doesn't seem to have any interest finding any female company."

"Give him time, Harry," Ginny advised. "Perhaps he's just waiting to meet the right girl."

"Maybe," Harry said dubiously, "but I just don't like the idea of him being here all alone."

"He won't be alone. Remus and Tonks will be here all the time. Besides, I think Sirius is really getting into this whole spy thing. He seems to really enjoy trying to ferret out information on the Ministry. It will certainly keep him busy, anyway," she assured him.

"Yeah, I hope so," Harry nodded. "I just wish he had someone to call his own."

"That's very sweet of you," Ginny told him, unwrapping his arm from around her shoulders and standing up.

"Oh, do you have to go so soon?" Harry asked in disappointment.

"No, I can stay a while longer," she said with a wicked smile. "But I'm meant to be showing you the outfit I bought and I got side-tracked."

"But I saw your outfit," Harry protested mildly. "It looks great on you. I never imagined you wearing pink, but that shirt looks stunning on you."

"Thank you," Ginny replied, "but you've only seen part of my new outfit, Harry. You see, that shop also sold some very naughty underwear. Would you like to see?"

Harry's eyes went wide. He seemed to temporarily lose the power of speech, so he just nodded vigorously instead.

"I really was quite shocked by some of the items they sold," Ginny explained casually as she slowly began to unbutton her blouse. Harry had hurriedly paced his photo album on the floor and was now watching her intently.

"Yes, it was really amazing how risqué some of the undergarment were. Hermione was quite shocked when she saw them," Ginny continued to explain as she let the blouse slip off her shoulders and fall on the floor. The bra she had bought was of ivory coloured satin with black lace trim. She was delighted to see Harry was practically drooling at the sight of it.

"Of course, Tonks thought all the items were wonderful. She even bought a few items herself." Ginny carefully unzipped her skirt and let it fall slip slowly down. Her knickers were a matching design to her bra and were definitely rather skimpy. She stood for a moment allowing Harry to drink in the sight of her before she sauntered towards him.

"Do you like my choice, Harry?" she asked teasingly, letting her fingers caress his cheek.

"Yes!" Harry squeaked, his face flushed and his trousers suggesting he had blood-flow issues.

"I'm so glad," she whispered as she bent forward and let her lips graze against his. Her hands slid down his chest and began to undo his belt. Harry said nothing, but leant back slightly to allow her easier access. "You know, I was asking the girls how I should best show my appreciation for you getting me such a wonderful birthday gift."

"What did they say?"" Harry asked in a trembling voice.

Having undone his belt, Ginny slowly unzipped his flies before kneeling in front of him. With a determined motion, she yanked his trousers and boxer shorts down in one go.

"Oh, you won't believe what Tonks suggested I should do to you," she said huskily.

"What did she suggest?" Harry asked in a strangled voice.

"Happy birthday, Harry," Ginny grinned.

"But it's not my … Oh, sweet Merlin!" he exclaimed.

Conversation ceased as Harry slowly drifted off into ecstasy.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

_"Legilimens!" _

Ginny watched as Harry sat stone-faced and determined as Madam Hagen once again attempted to enter his mind. Over the past weeks, both of them had steadily been increasing their resistance to the point where their teacher was finding it increasingly hard to read their thoughts. Harry was proving particularly skilled at Occlumency, possibly as a result of having the added motivation of a piece of Voldemort in his head.

"Excellent, Harry!" Eva praised him. "I couldn't get in at all that time."

Harry let out an explosive breath and grinned. "Have I got this cracked, then?" he asked.

"You're definitely getting there," Eva assured him, "but you have a little way to go yet. Remember, it's quite one thing to be able to resist someone who you know is trying to access your mind, it's quite another to defend yourself against a surprise attack from somewhere unexpected."

"I guess," Harry acknowledged in disappointment.

"Do not be disheartened," Eva encouraged him. "Ginny and yourself must rate as the best pupils I've ever had. Honestly, it takes most teenagers years to perfect this level of control and you've managed it in less than two months."

"Thanks, Eva," Harry said, smiling again. "I guess we can thank our wonderful teacher."

"You're very kind, Harry," Eva said, stroking his cheek fondly. "Now, I think that will be all for today. I have a few things I need to discuss with Mr Black, so I would be grateful if you could give us some privacy."

"Oh, no," Ginny groaned. "What's Sirius gone and done now?"

"Nothing for you to worry about, Ginny," Eva smiled.

"Okay, we'll head up to the library," Harry decided. "We won't be able to hear Sirius crying as you tell him off from there."

"Very amusing," Eva smirked. "Now, out; both of you. I have contract negotiations to undertake with Mr Black and I don't want to be disturbed."

Laughing, Harry took Ginny's hand and they headed out of the first floor reception room they used for their lessons and headed up the stairs. They had just reached the second floor landing when Harry abruptly stopped.

"What's the matter?" Ginny asked.

"Shush, I'm listening," Harry said holding up a finger. He cocked his head as if he was straining to hear what was happening downstairs.

"Trying to hear Eva bully Sirius into giving her a pay rise?" Ginny giggled.

"Nah, I'm just making sure that they're both busy," he replied. "There! I heard the door close. I'm sure they'll be deep in discussion for a while now."

"What are you up to, Harry?" she asked suspiciously.

"Nothing much," Harry grinned, wrapping his arms around her. "It's just that we've only got another week or two until we head back to Hogwarts and we're unlikely to get much privacy there, are we? I thought we could make the most of our remaining time and, after all, there are a number of unoccupied bedrooms on this floor."

"Why, Mr Potter! Are you trying to lead poor, innocent, little me astray with your wicked ways?" she in her best little girl voice.

"Why, Miss Weasley, that was my intension, yes," he smirked.

"Alright, then!" Ginny laughed and began to pull him towards the nearest bedroom.

They hurriedly entered the spare room and as soon as the door was closed they launched themselves at each other. Ginny felt Harry's eager hands running up and down her body as their tongues lazily caressed each other. She gasped as he pressed her back against the door as he began to plant a trail of kissed along her neck. His hand slipped underneath her top and began to inch upwards. His fingers had just begun to stroke the silky material of her bra when suddenly she heard voices in the hallway outside.

"Shit!" she hissed. "Someone's coming!"

"Quick, hide!" he whispered urgently.

"Where?" she demanded.

"Under the bed," he urged and grabbed her hand. They had both just managed to scamper out of sight when they heard the door open.

"Really, Madam Hagen, I don't know why we had to come up here for our discussion. What can be so secret that that we couldn't discuss it in the kitchen?" they heard Sirius's voice ask.

"Your godson and his delightful girlfriend are still in the house and they both have an inquisitive nature," Eva's voice replied. "I feel it is prudent to select this out-of-the-way location for our discussion."

"Very well," Sirius sighed. "We're here now; what is it that you wish to talk about."

"You know, of course, that I am a master Legilimens and that I am magically-bound not to discuss anything that I discover in this house by that method, yes?" Eva asked.

"Yes, I'm aware of that," Sirius said cautiously.

"Well, I should explain, Mr Black, that in my profession it is considered entirely ethical for a teacher to scan their employer's thoughts. It's not unknown for us to be hired by less than reputable types and it can be considered something of an insurance measure," she explained.

"You've been reading my mind?" Sirius exclaimed in horror.

"I have, Mr Black, and, frankly, what I've discovered rather shocks me," Eva replied.

"What the hell's going on?" Harry whispered to Ginny. She merely shook her head in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Sirius demanded.

"Your thoughts, Mr Black, are rather improper," she continued. "Specifically, your thoughts about me."

"What?" Sirius yelped.

"I know you've been looking at me when you think I'm not aware," she insisted. "Undressing me with your eyes. Fantasising about what you'd like to do to me."

"I assure you, Madam Hagen, I do not think of you in that way!" Sirius said in a panicky voice.

"It's alright, Mr Black, I do understand," Eva replied soothingly. "I quite understand how someone who has been held in captivity for as long as you were can feel so… frustrated. After that unfortunately incident with that young lady from the Ministry, I can understand you wanting a woman with a little more experience."

"What? How dare you look at those memories! Besides, that was just a one-off. I've never had problems like that before…"

"Hush, Mr Black. Remember, you can't lie to me; I know your every whim and desire. And I do understand your problems. Spending that amount of time in Azkaban can affect a man's performance. It's really nothing to be ashamed of," she assured him.

"I'm not ashamed!" Sirius cried. "And I can assure you that I do not fantasise about you, Madam Hagen. You're quite mistaken about that!"

"Really, Mr Black, who are you trying to convince? Admit it, you frequently stare at my chest, do you not?" she asked in amusement.

"It's difficult not to," Sirius muttered. "But that does not mean I'm lusting after you, Madam Hagen, you really have… what the hell are you doing?"

"I'm taking my clothes off, Mr Black," she replied calmly. "I feel it's part of my duty as a teacher to help you get over your… little problem. I assure you that you will experience no such difficulties with me."

"Oh, my god…" Sirius whimpered.

From her limited perspective under the bed, Ginny could only see Eva and Sirius's feet. Her eyes bulged in shock, therefore, when Madam Hagen's white blouse landed on the floor a few feet from the bed. She glanced over at Harry who appeared to be in the early stages of a heart-attack. He looked back at her in horror.

"Please, Madam Hagen… Eva! There's no need for you to do this!" Sirius begged.

"Come now, my handsome employer, I know how much you want me; I've seen it in your mind. I'm going to make your dreams come true," Eva purred.

Ginny's jaw dropped as Madam Hagen skirt landed next to her discarded blouse.

"Admit it!" Eva commanded in a stern voice. "Admit how to ache to feel a woman's naked body against your own! Your fear is holding you back, but with me you need worry no longer!"

"Mumph!" Ginny heard Sirius splutter and she wondered what was going on just out of sight.

Nervously, she exchanged worried glances with Harry. It had suddenly gone very quiet above them. She was just beginning to wonder if she should try to take a peek to see what was happening, when the bed they were hiding under suddenly bulged alarmingly, nearly crushing poor Harry who was nearer the centre than she was.

"Oh, ja! Nimm mich, du Schelm!" cried Madam Hagen, who apparently reverted to her native language in times of passion.

Harry, who had scampered over next to Ginny, looked up in dismay. He was clearly imagining what was going on just a couple of feet above his head. Ginny, for her part, watching in complete amazement as the largest bra she had ever seen landed on the floor beside her.

"Oh, Eva!" Sirius said in a breathy voice. "You're magnificent!"

Ginny felt as if she was paralysed. She lay rigidly and watched numbly as other items of clothing began to join the other items on the floor. Soon, the shower of garments ceased and all that could be heard was muffled moaning and the bed jiggling slightly. Then, the bed springs began to squeak in a most alarming manner.

Then, gradually at first, the bed began shake. The mattress above their heads began to bulge rhythmically and a grunting sound could be heard.

"Ja! Ja! Gib's mir! Schneller! Schneller!" Eva screamed.

"Let's get the hell out of here!" Harry begged in an urgent whisper. As he was in serious danger of being crushed again, Ginny couldn't blame him for wanting to move.

Hoping that that the occupants of the bed were too busy to notice, Ginny crawled hurriedly out from under cover and towards the door. She kept her eyes firmly on the door handle as she went and tried to ignore what was going on behind her.

Reaching the door, she stretched up and carefully turned the handle. Opening the door a crack, she crawled out as fast as her hands and knees would take her. A moment later, Harry emerged behind her and as soon as he was in the hallway he reached back and gently closed the door behind them. As the door swung closed, Ginny caught an inadvertent glimpse of a naked Madam Eva straddling a stunned-looking Sirius Black. It was an image that would haunt her for days.

"Oh, shit," Harry mumbled as soon as the door closed. "I think I'm scarred for life."

"Did you see the size of Madam Eva's boobie-holder?" Ginny asked in awe. "You could fit a pair of Hagrid's prize-winning pumpkins in that thing!"

"Oh, god! Oh, god! Oh, goddddddd," Sirius's voice leaked through the door. The squeaking of the bed springs had now reached an ear-shattering volume.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" Harry begged.

"Yeah, let's head up to the roof," Ginny suggested. "We shouldn't be able to hear anything from up there."

"Is that far enough? " Harry asked, scrambling to his feet. "I was thinking more along the lines of Mozambique, just to be on the safe side."

"Come on," Ginny smirked, grabbing his hand. "I'll tell you one thing though, Harry."

"What's that?" he asked.

"Madam Hagen appears to have solved Sirius's 'little problem' quite efficiently!" she giggled.

Laughing, they both ran up the stairs.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Ginny sat at the kitchen table eating her breakfast. Across from her, Ron was doing his usual efficient job of eating everything in sight. Fortunately, this meant that he was ignoring her, a state Ginny was quite happy with.

The twins were also present at the breakfast table and were in their usual boisterous mood. As had become their habit, they had spent a good portion of the morning trying to tease her about her relationship with Harry. Sadly for them, she merely smiled and shrugged at their suggestive comments and innuendoes.

She had just finished her morning meal and was just contemplating having seconds when a distinguished-looking screech owl swooped in through the open kitchen window and landed on the table.

"Oh, it looks like your Hogwarts letters have arrived, kids," Molly announced from where she was standing at the sink.

"About time!" Ron declared, dropping his knife and fork and lunging for the letters attached to the owl's leg. The bird glared at him in annoyance.

Ginny frowned at her brother's behaviour. Frankly, after the year he'd had she would have thought Ron would have been the last person to be keen to find out his exam results from last term. Something was definitely going on.

By that point, Ron had managed to detach the letters from the owl and located his. Ungraciously, he threw the other three letters in Fred's general direction and began to rip open his own envelope. Tutting, Ginny gently stroked the feathers of the ruffled bird and gave it some bacon as a peace offering.

While the bird gratefully accepted the titbits, Ginny watched her brother with mounting confusion. He had removed his school letter from the envelope and thrown it onto the table with barely a glance. Seeing her look at him, Ron smirked and tipped the envelope up, letting something hard and shiny fall onto the kitchen table. It was a badge with a large letter 'P' on it.

"They made you a prefect?" Ginny nearly screeched. "No bloody way!"

"Ginny!" her mother scolded her. "Mind your language. You should be pleased for your brother; being made a prefect is a great honour."

"But how did this git get made a prefect?" George demanded. "He was nearly expelled last term!"

"Yeah," Fred agreed. "Remember how he had to sleep in the third-years' dorm?"

"There's no way you ever deserved that badge, Ron!" Ginny said angrily.

"What's the matter? Thought your precious boyfriend would get the position? Well, let me tell you something, Ginny, not everyone is so enamoured by the arrogant, stuck-up, moron!" Ron snarled. "The teachers are onto his little games now and things are going to be different next term, mark my words!"

"Sweet Merlin, he's worse than Percy was!" Fred exclaimed in horror.

Ron's head snapped in his brother's direction. "Yeah, well, I'm starting to see Percy's point of view. He never had any time for that poncey Boy Who Lived, and he was right! Besides, he's the one who's got a great job and is earning loads of cash, isn't he?"

"Bill earns more than him," George pointed out, "and Charlie isn't far behind."

"Percy earns a damn sight more than Dad though, doesn't he?" Ron taunted.

Feeling her temper was nearly at boiling point, Ginny reached forward and grabbed Ron's end of term report card. She quickly scanned his exam results before he had a chance to snatch it back.

"I knew it!" she exclaimed. "Not a single grade above 'Acceptable'. In fact, there are a couple of 'Poor's in there, too, and a 'Dreadful' in History! How did you get made prefect with marks like this?"

"I was the best choice," Ron snapped. "Who else would they give it to? I'm the only pure-blood wizard in my year, apart from Neville and they're not going to give it to him, are they?"

"Since when does blood status mean anything when handing out prefect badges?" Fred asked in a cold voice.

"It might not mean anything to you, but it does to some people," Ron sneered. "You three had better be careful next term and treat me with the respect I deserve. You're going to find yourselves in a lot of trouble if you don't, I promise you."

"Now, Ron, remember this appointment is a privilege and is not to be abused," Molly said warily. "It can be taken away as quickly as it was given, so I expect proper behaviour from you, understand?"

"Of course, Mum," Ron said with a rather insincere smile. "Is it okay if I head over to Neville's place now? I can't wait to tell him about this."

"Yes, I suppose so, dear," Molly said in a weary voice.

Ron immediately leapt up from the table and headed towards the Floo without a backward glance. Ginny furiously turned on her mother.

"You knew about this, didn't you?" she accused.

"Ginny! Do not use that tone of voice with me!" Molly snapped.

"You did though, didn't you, Mum?" George said. "This is a really, really bad idea."

"Don't be ridiculous," Molly retorted. "Just because you and your brother have no respect for school rules, it doesn't mean everyone is the same. I'm sure Ron will do very well next term."

"Mum, Ron was nearly expelled last term because he ignored school rules. What makes you think he'll change this term? And more to the point, what has he done to deserve this?" Ginny said, trying desperately to remain calm.

"Ginny's right, Mum," Fred said. "Ron was a waste of space last year. Not only was he rotten to Harry and Ginny, once Hermione stopped speaking to him he put zero effort into his schoolwork. Prefects are supposed to lead by example."

"Like you would know anything about that," Molly shot back. "The pair of you could both do with shaping up a great deal."

"Perhaps, but we never expected to be made prefects," George pointed out. "Mum, what's going on?"

Molly sighed and seemed to deflate in front of their eyes.

"I know it seems an odd thing to do, but I really believe it's for the best," she explained. "I've been worried sick about Ron all summer and your father and I have been racking our brains about what to do. We went and talked to Professor Dumbledore and he suggested that a lot of Ron's problems were due to him feeling inferior. The poor boy has always been in his brothers' shadows and has never really stood out. Albus thought that if Ron was given a little more responsibility he might rise to the challenge. This could be really good for your brother, please don't ruin it for him."

"Yeah, it sounded like he was going to rise to the challenge just then, didn't it?" George scoffed. "He thinks he's entitled to the appointment because he's a pure-blood and that he can act any damn well way he pleases now."

"You've rewarded him for misbehaving last term," Ginny said accusingly. "What sort of message is that going to send to him?"

"This was a really bad idea," Fred agreed.

"Just give him a chance, please," Molly begged. "Just be supportive of your brother, that's all I ask."

Without a word, Fred and George pushed their chairs back and stood up. They walked out of the kitchen without a backward glance. Ginny stood up to follow them, but she did pause in the doorway and look back at her mother.

"This was a huge mistake and it's going to come back and haunt you, Mum," she said in a quiet voice.

Without waiting for a reply, she stormed out of the room. Harry was definitely not going to like this news one little bit.


	7. Chapter 7 – Meetings and More Confession

**Chapter 7 – Meetings and More Confessions**

AN

Oh, weren't you lot unhappy at me making Ron a prefect in the last chapter? I could hear the howls of fury from here in soggy Wiltshire. Snigger. This chapter is (largely) Ron free, you'll all be pleased to know (although he is a git in the small appearance he does make). Hopefully that will ensure that I don't get any pitchforks lobbed at me this time…

As always, thanks to Arnel for her keen eye and shrewd suggestions. The woman is a jewel, I tell you!

* * *

"Well, this place is interesting," Ginny commented with distaste as she looked around. She could barely believe the café was allowed to serve food, such was the state it was in.

"Yeah, I don't think we'll be eating here," Harry said in agreement as they headed up to the counter.

This run-down, greasy-spoon was the place that Percy had decided they should meet. In some ways, it was the perfect choice as no self-respecting wizard would ever be seen dead in such an establishment. Ginny was just amazed that Percy even knew that such a place even existed.

While Harry ordered a couple of cans of fizzy drink, she scanned the booths to see if her brother had already arrived. If he was here, she concluded, he was expertly disguised. Once Harry had made his purchases, they headed over to one of the more secluded side-booths and sat down, after carefully wiping down the seats first, of course.

"Here you go, Ginny," Harry said offering her one of the cans. "This is called Coca-Cola. You might find it a bit sweet and bubbly."

"Harry, I live right next to a Muggle village; I've had cans of coke before," she muttered in exasperation.

"Ah, sorry," Harry said contritely. "I thought this might have been your first time."

"It's my first time for visiting a pigsty disguised as a café," she admitted. "Are all Muggle places in London like this?"

"No," he replied adamantly. "Trust me, your average Muggle would be as appalled as you are."

"Then why did… oh, hang on. Percy's just walked in," Ginny noted, "and he's not alone."

"What?" Harry exclaimed, his head snapping round towards the door.

"Relax, he's just with some girl," Ginny advised, "although why he's brought his latest bit of fluff is a mystery."

They watched as Percy and his mysterious friend walked up to the counter and bought a couple of cans of drink and some chocolate bars. Clearly, they too were avoiding anything that needed any form of preparation by the owner. Casually, Percy ambled down the aisle and sat himself down next to Ginny. The mousy-looking girl took a seat next to Harry.

"Ginevra, Harry; nice to see you both," Percy said stiffly.

"Yes, hello, Percy. Nice place you picked for us to meet," Ginny said acidly. "Who's your friend, by the way?"

"May I introduce Audrey Rankin," Percy said, smiling at the girl. "My fiancé."

"What!" Ginny gasped. "Mum's going to have a bloody fit when she hears about this!"

"Well, I trust that you will keep my secret a while longer, then" Percy said coolly. "There's no reason for mother to know anything at this stage, is there?"

"It's your funeral," Ginny shrugged. "Very nice to meet you, Audrey, and I don't mean to be rude, but why are you here?"

"We thought it would be better cover if I accompanied Percy," Audrey replied in a surprisingly firm voice. "If anyone asks, Percy is just taking me to be introduced to his sister and her boyfriend. Nothing unusual about that, is there?"

"No, it's a good cover, but we and Percy have some important things to discuss and we can't do that with you here," Ginny replied, matching the girls tone.

"On the contrary, Ginevra, Audrey is privy to all the information I have to give you and, indeed, helped collect a large proportion of it," Percy interrupted.

"You told your girlfriend what we're doing?" Harry asked with a hint of anger in his voice.

"I assure you, Audrey is completely discrete, and, in fact, is an extremely willing participant in your little project," Percy said calmly. "You see, Audrey here works at the Ministry in the Finance Section. More specifically, she looks after the ledgers and accounts of the Minister's private office."

Ginny saw where Percy was going with this immediately. "You mean…" she began.

"In the two years I've worked in the Ministry, I've seen more underhand and criminal behaviour then I ever believed possible," Audrey interrupted. "The bribery and corruption is completely out of control and, as soon as Percy explained what he was doing, I saw this was my chance to expose some of the wrong-doings I have to deal with on a daily basis."

"If you're so upset about it, why don't you go to the Daily Prophet, or something?" Harry asked.

"Because that paper is practically run by the Ministry. They wouldn't print anything that made the Minister look bad," she sniffed. "Besides, if they even got a hint I was spilling their secrets I'm sure I'd meet with an unfortunate 'accident'. Either that, or my family would be made to suffer in some way."

"Audrey has been keeping secret records of all the bribes the Minister has accepted. The fool has routed all the money through his personal expenses account, so it was all easy to trace," Percy explained.

Ginny stared at the mousey brown-haired girl intently. If what Percy was saying was true, this could be the ticket to either control Fudge or dispose of him completely. It just all seemed a bit convenient to her.

"And totally by coincidence, it just so happens your girlfriend works in the one place that can supply all this information?" Harry asked suspiciously, obviously thinking along the same lines as her.

"Look, you can check my story, if you like," Audrey said in exasperation. "I've been going out with Percy for months, long before you approached him to supply information. I've been working in the Finance Section continually since I joined the Ministry and have risen through the ranks gradually. This isn't some set up."

"You can see why we're so sceptical, though," Ginny pointed out.

"Yes, I can," Audrey admitted, "but, trust me, I've been waiting for an opportunity like this for ages. One of the things that drew me to Percy in the first place was his honesty. He stood out like a sore thumb in the cesspool that's the Ministry."

"Honesty?" Ginny snorted. "He did tell you how we dragged him into this, didn't he?"

"Oh, grow up, you stupid little girl," Audrey snapped. "Everyone in the whole bloody Ministry takes bribes. Percy, however, has never done anything that would endanger life or discredit the Ministry, which is a damn sight more than ninety per cent of people there. Most Ministry workers are out to make some quick and easy cash and don't care who gets hurt by them doing it."

"Don't make it sound like it's a universal thing," Ginny retorted. "There's still some good people in the Ministry. My father has never taken a bribe in his life!"

"Which is why he still works in a minor and unimportant office after all his years of service," Percy pointed out mildly. "I respect his honest, Ginevra, I really do, but he's really just hurting himself by doing it."

"How can you say that?" Ginny gasped. "You think that he should have compromised his ideals just to make a few Galleons on the side, do you?"

"No, what I'm saying is that his gesture is futile. Do you really think that by refusing to play the game he's made the slightest bit of difference to how the Ministry is run? No, he's achieved nothing other than hurt himself and the rest of our family," Percy retorted with surprising heat. "Did you ever wonder why Dad had to work on so many Christmas Days? Why he always seemed to be given weekend duties? Didn't you ever stop to think why all the other kids whose fathers worked at the Ministry got new clothes and books, and we had to make do with second-hand items? Didn't you ever hear Mum cry herself to sleep at night because she was so worried about making ends meet? Dad's ethical stance might have been commendable, but it was also bloody stupid."

Ginny stared at her brother in shock. Suddenly all the arguments that Percy and her dad had had in the last few years became understandable. For the first time, she began to wonder if Percy didn't actually have a point.

"Is the Ministry really so bad?" Harry asked in a shocked voice. "Can it really not function at all without bribes and backhanders?"

"I'm sorry to say, Mr Potter, that it can't," Audrey said sympathetically. "To stamp it out you'd literally have to rebuild the whole Ministry from the ground up. But tell me, do you really think the Muggle Government is any better?"

"Maybe a bit better," Harry shrugged. "I don't know; they're certainly less blatant about it."

"So, you're criticising the Ministry of Magic for being a bit more transparent about these things?" Audrey asked with a sad smile.

Harry sighed. "I guess it would be a bit stupid," he replied. "It doesn't make it right, though."

"No, no it doesn't," Audrey agreed. "Which is why I'm trying to do something about the worst of it. The documents I've brought with me today prove that Cornelius Fudge is virtually in the pocket of Lucius Malfoy."

Percy nodded. "I know a lot of people are suspicious of Malfoy, despite the Minister declaring him innocent of all charges after the last war. I must confess that I believed the man was acting under duress previously, but our findings have completely changed my mind."

"The man is basically pushing You-Know-Who's philosophy via the back door," Audrey continued. "While no one single act would cause suspicion by itself, if you put everything together it's clear Malfoy wholeheartedly believes in the Dark Lord's ideas and practices."

"It was pretty easy to tie together the bribes that were paid with specific bits of legislation that happened to be approved at around the same time. The size of the payments even matched the importance of the regulation that was effected. The Minister must have been insane if he thought that the links wouldn't be discovered by a thorough investigation," Percy said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Or that he was just too arrogant to believe anyone would question him," Ginny speculated. "So, exactly what sort of 'favours' has Fudgy been doing for Malfoy?"

"Basically, anything that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named would approve of," Audrey snorted. "Pardons for former Death Eaters, additional rights for pure-bloods, restrictions on Magical Creatures, laws allowing the Ministry to bypass statutory legal rights. Hell, I bet they would have made Muggle-hunting legal if they thought they could get away with it!"

"If You-Know-Who was still alive, he would be immensely pleased with Lucius Malfoy," Percy spat.

"He's not dead," Harry said automatically.

"What?" Audrey exclaimed.

"I said, he's not dead," Harry repeated. "He exists in spirit-form at present, but he's trying to get his body back. Sooner or later, he's going to succeed, and when he does, things are going to get nasty pretty quickly."

"But he… oh, Merlin! What Dumbledore was saying about him returning at the end of the Triwizard Tournament was true, wasn't it!" Percy gasped.

"No, not exactly," Harry disagreed. "Voldemort tried to get his body back, but failed. It's not the first time he's attempted it, either."

"But why did you disagree with Dumbledore, then? If you knew this was happening, why didn't you try and warn people when you have the chance?" Audrey asked accusingly.

"Because it would have made no difference," Ginny leapt in angrily. "If the Wizarding world knew Voldemort wasn't really dead and was seeking to return, what do you think they would do? I'll tell you: nothing! They would stick their heads in the sand and pretended it wasn't true."

"They would have accused me of being a delusional liar, too," Harry added. "I know first-hand how quick people are to believe any made-up crap about the Boy Who Lived. Just look at what's happening to Dumbledore now, and he was a popular figure. I'd have been crucified if I'd suggested Voldemort was coming back."

"And what happens if Voldemort does come back?" Audrey demanded.

"Then hopefully we'll be ready for him by that point," Ginny said calmly.

Percy and Audrey looked at each other solemnly for a second. It looked like some sort of silent argument was raging between the two of them. Evidently, it was an argument that Audrey won because Percy broke eye-contact first and looked over at Ginny with a slight flush to his cheeks.

"Okay, we're in," Percy declared. "Whatever you need us to do, we'll help."

"Thank you, both," Ginny said warmly. "If you can supply those documents detailing the bribes Fudge has accepted, then you'll already have made a massive difference."

Audrey reached into her coat and withdrew a thick wodge of parchment which she handed to Ginny.

"One word of advice, though," Audrey said as she passed the documents to her. "No matter how tempting it is, do not use this evidence to go after Malfoy directly. It won't work."

"Why?" Harry asked curiously.

"Malfoy has too much support within the Ministry and, frankly, the vast majority of the Wizengamot wouldn't think he'd done anything wrong by offering these bribes," Percy explained. "Oh, they might be upset at the size and purpose of them, but far too many of them use monetary means to get what they want themselves. They might not like Malfoy, but they'd defend his methods to the hilt."

"If you're going to use this information, go after Fudge," Audrey advised, "no Minister should be completely owned by one paymaster and if the Wizengamot got wind of just how much he's accepted over the years from Malfoy, they'll hang him out to dry."

"Okay, I see we're going to have to give this some thought," Ginny mused. "We'll probably sit on this stuff until the right moment. It would serve little purpose to get Fudge kicked out now, only to have someone else equally bad replace him."

"You have a promising career in politics ahead of you, Ginevra," Percy said, smiling affectionately at his sister. "Right, if that's all for the moment, Audrey and I had better go. When you need to speak to me again send a message to our flat."

"Percy," Ginny called as her brother and his fiancé stood to leave.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Don't lose that girl," Ginny said pointing to Audrey. "She's definitely a keeper."

"I don't intend to," Percy said smiling widely. "Until later, Ginevra, Harry."

After they left, Harry turned to Ginny. "What do you think?" he asked.

"I think we'd be best served by keeping this information in reserve until we need it, "she replied thoughtfully. "But right now I think I need to get out of this filthy place and take a bath."

"Need someone to scrub your back?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Pervert!" Ginny laughed, slapping him on the arm. She didn't turn down his offer of help, however.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"So, shouldn't we make a start?" Harry asked nervously.

Ginny looked around the table at the small assembled group. This would be their last chance to get together before the next term started, and they needed to make plans. Unfortunately, their usual leader seemed a bit distracted.

"I said, shall we get started, Sirius?" Harry repeated loudly.

"What? Oh, yes. Carry on, Harry," Sirius replied absently.

"Are you okay?" Tonks asked her cousin. "You seem a bit… out of it."

"No, I'm fine," he replied. "I just haven't been sleeping too well in the last few days. But really, I'm okay. Let's crack on."

"Alright," Harry said, giving his godfather a strange look. "Who wants to kick off, then?"

"I might as well start," Remus piped up. "I'm still concerned about this Umbridge woman who'll be teaching at Hogwarts next year. If half of what Sirius has found out about her is true then she's a nasty piece of work."

"I know most of the Administration witches at the Ministry are terrified of her," Tonks agreed. "I couldn't get anyone to talk about her and normally that bunch will gossip about anything."

"I don't think we have to worry too much," Ginny ventured. "After our little visit to her a few weeks ago, I think Dolores thinks Harry and I are a godsend. I'm more worried about what she'll do to any other pupils that step out of line."

"Yeah, I'd put money on her having a nasty streak," Harry agreed. "There was just something about her that gave me the willies."

"Well, if we're going to follow the plan we'll need her at Hogwarts," Ginny pointed out. "We need Umbridge to start reeling in Dumbledore and limiting his powers. I don't want our esteemed Headmaster being able to convince the Ministry that he should take over guardianship of Harry or something. If the name Albus Dumbledore becomes a dirty word it will be that much harder for him to play his stupid games."

"With all the ammunition we handed Umbridge, I'm sure Albus will be too busy fighting her off to have time to mess with you two," Sirius ventured. "Still, I think we could do with a bit of dirt on her, just so we can be sure she stays in line."

"I'm sure Percy and Audrey will be happy to help," Ginny said brightly. "I'll send them an owl as soon as we're finished here."

"I'd certainly feel a lot happier if we had a contingency plan to deal with her if she becomes unruly," Remus agreed. "If your brother can come up anything half as incriminating as the evidence he found against Fudge I'll be happy."

"Okay, while we are discussing contingency plans, what do we do if Dumbledore starts making a pain of himself?" Harry asked.

"I'm still your legal guardian, Harry, and nothing Dumbledore can do will change that," Sirius insisted. "Just make sure you have your communication mirror with you at all times and if Albus looks like he's about to pull something give me a shout."

"Remember, Harry, Albus no longer has any legal rights over you, at all. The only authority he has over you is that of Headmaster which means he can only legislate to you on matters regarding your education. He might try and suggest otherwise, but if he tries to make you do anything not related to school activities, politely refuse and walk away," Remus advised.

"And even his authority on school matters is limited," Sirius added. "He still has to obey the same rules as everyone else. If he does anything you think is out of line, contact me and I can always bring the matter to the attention of the school governors. Word has it that they are already pretty pissed-off at Dumbledore to start with. It wouldn't take much for them to come down on him like a ton of bricks."

"And if he does step out of line, we can always suggest to the governors that Dumbledore is angry at Harry for not backing him up in the press at the end of last term," Ginny pointed out. "He'll just look like he's being petty and vindictive."

"Nice touch," Tonks said appreciatively.

"Why, thank you," Ginny said with a grin. "I do try."

"And with such style, as well," Tonks said, winking at the younger girl. "So, with Albus side-lined, do you two think you'll have any trouble keeping up your training next term?"

"The only problem I foresee is location," Harry mused. "Even if I could persuade Professor McGonagall to let us keep using that abandoned classroom, I don't think it's up to the job anymore. Our spells have come on a lot since we started last year and we need somewhere we can effectively shield. Somewhere a bit more private would be a good idea, too."

"Sorry, is this for training or for snogging?" Tonks teased.

"I can multi-task," Ginny smirked.

"Oh! Oh! Master Harry Potter, Sir!" Dobby interrupted enthusiastically. "You's can use the Come and Go room!"

"The what?" Harry asked in confusion.

"The Come and Go Room," the little elf repeated. "It is a secret room that only a fews people is knowing about. It is a very clever place and can become anything you needs. Dobby can come back to Hogwarts and show you, sir."

"Sounds promising," Ginny acknowledged. "That would be great. Will you have any problem getting back into Hogwarts next term, Dobby?"

"No, Miss Ginny," The elf said confidently. "The other elves know Dobby. They have no problems with him visiting."

"Sounds like that little problem is taken care of," Harry acknowledged. "But I can name another one I don't think will be sorted so easily: Horcruxes."

The assembled group collectively sighed in frustration. Harry had been extremely insistent that they start researching possible locations for the vile objects and had driven them to start working on the project. While none of them would deny the importance of the task, the sheer difficulty of the problem tended to put them off. Harry had cracked the whip, however, and they had begun to compile a list of objects and locations to be investigated. Most of their ideas, however, were pure guess work.

"I know we didn't achieve as much as you hoped…" Ginny began.

"As much as I hoped? We didn't achieve anything!" Harry protested.

"We've made a start," Remus disagreed, "and while you and Ginny are back at Hogwarts the rest of us will continue the work. Hopefully, we'll be able to start scouting out locations, soon."

"I just think this is the most important task ahead of us and we should give it more priority," Harry insisted.

"Our most important task was making sure we could defend ourselves," Ginny argued, "and that meant defending our minds as well as our bodies. The training in Occlumency was our first priority and increasing our duelling skills was a close second."

"I'm not saying that stuff wasn't important, I just think we should have spent more time looking into the Horcruxes," he maintained.

"Harry, our summer holidays were just over two months long. In that time you've learnt Occlumency, been trained in duelling by a qualified Auror, learnt over a dozen new spells and hexes, have been tutored in Transfiguration and Charms by an actual Professor, kept up your fitness regime and started to learn how to Apparate. In addition to that lot, we've put together a plan to reduce Dumbledore's influence over you, obtained spies in the Ministry and in the Order, not to mention accidentally rid the world of the vilest journalist ever know. Now, unless you've got a Time-Turner in your pocket, I don't see how you could possibly have achieved anymore in that time!" Ginny said in exasperation.

"Yeah, and not to mention you got yourself a load of snazzy new clothes and got to snog your beautiful girlfriend loads," Tonks pointed out. "Really, Harry, I think you're expecting miracles here."

"Maybe," Harry acknowledged meekly. "As daft as it sounds, I almost resent having to go back to Hogwarts. I sort of feel like I don't have time for it, you know?"

"You need a rounded education, Harry," Remus insisted. "What we've taught you here was pretty specialised and mainly combat orientated. You need to learn all branches of magic, not just those that will help you in a fight."

"Remember, Harry, it took years for Voldemort to gather the strength to return after he lost his body the first time. You don't have to do everything overnight," Ginny reminded him.

"I guess," Harry admitted in defeat. "It's just hard to be patient when I know he's still out there somewhere. I just wish I had the tools to defeat him right now."

"A lot of things have to happen before we get to that stage," Ginny pointed out meaningfully.

Harry looked at her for a moment before understanding flooded into his eyes. "Oh, yeah, I guess you're right," he murmured. "It's not all going to happen overnight, is it?"

"No, but don't worry. We'll get it all sorted," Ginny assured him.

"Okay, anything anyone else wants to bring up? Sirius, how about you?" Harry asked. "Sirius?"

"Hmm? Oh, no, I've got nothing else to add," Sirius said, slightly shamefaced.

"Right, in that case I guess we'll all get together again at Christmas," Harry announced. "Merlin, that sounds a long time away."

"It's only about four months away," Tonks pointed out. "Just enough time for you to shop for all the expensive prezzies you're going to buy me!"

"Was that a subtle hint?" Harry laughed. "Sorry, Tonks, my lovely girlfriend would get jealous if I showered anyone else with gifts other than her."

"Nah, as long as it was cool stuff I could borrow," Ginny smirked.

"Sirius, how much did you say I had left in my vault at Gringotts? I have a feeling it's going to be an expensive Christmas," Harry lamented.

Ginny and Tonks just grinned evilly.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"Excellent, I haven't been able to enter your mind all morning. I think you've just about mastered this skill," Eva praised Harry.

"Thanks, Eva. I must admit I've been sleeping a lot better lately, thanks to you. Learning Occlumency has to be about the best thing I've ever done," Harry admitted gratefully.

"It's what I'm paid for," Eva said dismissively. "But it's been a pleasure teaching such wonderful students as Ginny and yourself. I'm just glad that your new-found skills have been successful in keeping You-Know-Who out of your mind."

Ginny watched her intimidating teacher with a mixture of gratitude and apprehension. There was no denying that the woman was a talented instructor and, once you got to know her, she was a wonderful person, too. But ever since the incident where she and Harry had witnessed the woman seducing Sirius, Ginny had been distinctly uncomfortable in her presence. The fact that Madam Eva kept trying to break into her mind and view her memories definitely didn't help. Ginny shuddered to think what would happen if Eva discovered that she and Harry had been in the bedroom that afternoon.

"So, does this mean we won't be seeing you anymore?" Harry asked sadly. Out of the pair of them, he had definitely taken to Madam Hagen the most.

"Actually, I was discussing this with your godfather the other day and we both agree that you should continue with your training. If it's agreeable with Ginny and yourself, I will return during the Christmas holidays to test your shields and to start teaching you Legilimency," Eva explained.

"Legilimency? Wow, that would be great!" Harry said enthusiastically. "That would be brilliant, don't you think, Ginny?"

"Yeah, that would be really useful," Ginny agreed.

"I'm glad you agree… _Legilimens!" _Eva yelled without warning.

She had been springing surprise tests like this on the pair of them all week. Generally, Ginny had held up well under their teacher's unexpected attacks, but this time she was caught completely unaware. Eva slipped neatly through her unprepared shields and into her recent memories and, sadly, there was one thing that Ginny was generally reminded of in Eva's presence these days.

"Oh, crap," Ginny moaned as Eva ransacked her memories. She could almost feel her teacher flinch as she encountered THAT memory.

Madam Eva's wand dropped from her suddenly numb fingers and she stared at Ginny in horror. Ginny couldn't meet the woman's gaze and quickly lowered her eyes.

"Oh, shit," exclaimed Harry, who had obviously realised what had happened.

"Indeed," Madam Eva agreed in a trembling voice. She staggered a few steps and sat down on a nearby chair heavily. She then put her hands over her face and began to sob.

Ginny stared at the woman in shock. This was most certainly not the reaction she had expected from her imposing teacher and it rather alarmed her. Harry was looking at the crying woman in consternation.

"Eva… are you alright?" he asked hesitantly. Eva didn't answer however and just continued to weep.

"We didn't mean to spy on you," Ginny said earnestly. "Honestly, we had no idea you were going to come into that room."

Eva drew a rasping breath and sniffled. She wiped at her eyes with the cuff of her blouse and looked up at them.

"I'm sorry," she moaned. "I know I shouldn't have done it. Please don't report me; I'll lose everything if they take my license away."

Harry glanced over at Ginny with a frown on his face. Ginny could only shrug in confusion. Why was Eva apologising? Surely, it should be them apologising to her for inadvertently spying on her. Unless…

"Madam Eva, was Sirius really having fantasies about you, or did you just say that to make him think he was?" Ginny asked shrewdly.

"He was thinking a little about me," Eva said hopefully, before her face crumbled, "but not what I would call fantasising, exactly. I admit that I just planted the notion in his mind that he desired me."

"Madam Eva!" Harry exclaimed in shock.

"Please do not judge me too harshly, I beg of you, Harry," Eva sobbed. "For a woman like me to attract a handsome lover like your godfather is unheard of, and I confess I lusted after Sirius the moment I set eyes on him. I wanted him so badly I… I… cheated."

"Oh, Eva," Ginny said in disappointment.

"I didn't think I was doing any harm," Eva said hastily. "Sirius did genuinely have a problem performing after his time in Azkaban. I could see in his mind his acute embarrassment and worry at his failure to perform with that wench he picked up a couple of months ago. I thought that I could help him gain his confidence back and get what I wanted at the same time. Unfortunately, it seems to have backfired on me."

"Why?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Because I have stupidly gone and fallen in love with Sirius," Eva explained.

"Blimey," Harry exclaimed.

"Have you told Sirius this?" Ginny asked.

"No, he… he has been avoiding me. Even when we are in the same room together it's like I'm not there. I obviously revolt him," Eva wailed.

"I don't know about that," Harry said dubiously. "He seems to be treating everyone like that at present. It's like he's a million miles away half the time. Whatever his reaction is to you at the moment, I don't think it revulsion."

"You're just saying that," Eva sobbed. "Why would a man like him ever look twice at a brute of a woman like me?"

"Because if there is one thing my godfather is, it's a non-conformist," Harry said sternly. "Eva, you did a terrible thing by deceiving him, but I do understand that your heart was in the right place."

Ginny felt a sudden stab of guilt. Harry could well have been describing the early days of their relationship when she had tried to manipulate him. True, she'd only had Harry's best interests at heart, but she had still been less than truthful.

"Go to Sirius and tell him what you did and why," Harry insisted. "Be truthful about your feelings. He'll probably be angry at you for tricking him, but I suspect he'll forgive you pretty soon."

"And what about my relationship with your godfather?" Eva asked. "Do you think there is any chance he might want me?"

"I don't know," Harry admitted. "But I do know you're a wonderful person and from what little I reluctantly saw the other night, you two certainly seemed to be enjoying yourselves. I will tell you one thing, though, Eva: he's lonely. He desperately needs a woman in his life and personally I'd love it if it was you."

Eva broke down in tears again but this time she stood and flung her arms around Harry.

"Thank you, you sweet, sweet, boy," she gasped through her tears. "I have no right to hope for anything, but I would love to be a part of your little family, Harry."

Harry hugged the large woman back. "Me, too," he told her.

Ginny watched the pair with her eyes glistening. Once again, Harry had pulled his old trick of completely surprising her. To him, it didn't matter a jot what Eva looked like. She had shown him kindness and proved to him that she was a good person, and to Harry that was all that mattered. At that moment, Ginny felt herself falling in love with him all over again.

After a while, Eva's crying stopped and she pulled herself together. She accepted the offer of Harry's handkerchief and wiped her eyes. Squaring her shoulders, she looked down on the young man.

"Thank you, Harry," she said earnestly. "I will take your advice and go and talk to Sirius. Even if he says he never wants to see me again at least we will both know the truth. But I must say this to you, Harry; I know you have a hard road ahead of you and must face a terrible foe, but I'm behind you completely. Whenever you or Ginny need my help, just ask and I will do whatever I can. You have my word on this."

"Thank you, Eva," Harry said affectionately.

"You're welcome," she replied. "Right, there is no point putting this off. I will go and seek Sirius immediately."

And with that Eva strode towards the door purposely. Just as she was about to leave the room she momentarily looked back.

"Wish me luck," she said hopefully.

"Definitely," Harry assured her.

"Yeah, I hope it goes well," Ginny added.

The German woman nodded gratefully and hurried out the room. Ginny looked over at Harry who was stood looking apprehensive.

"Do you think she has a hope?" Ginny asked him.

"I hope so," Harry replied. "But, truthfully, I haven't got a clue how Sirius will react. I hope he gives Eva a chance, I really do."

Ginny walked over to her boyfriend and pulled him into a passionate kiss. By the time their lips parted they were both gasping for breath.

"Wow! What was that for?" Harry asked with a wide smile on his face.

"For being you," Ginny replied and hugged him even tighter.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"Flourish and Blotts? Why would I want to go there? I've got all my books for next year. Can't I go to Quality Quidditch Supplies instead?" Ron moaned.

Ginny gritted her teeth and she suspected she wasn't the only Weasley to have that reaction at that moment. Ron had been a complete pain from the moment he'd woken up that morning. His constant stream of complaints and abuse had put everyone on edge, which had probably been his intention all along. The twins were glaring at their younger brother with murder in their eyes and even their mother seemed to be contemplating drawing her wand.

"Yes, alright, Ronald," Molly Weasley agreed, to everyone's relief. "But be back at the Leaky Cauldron before twelve, understand?"

"Yeah, I heard," Ron shrugged and wandered off in the general direction of the Quidditch shop. There was a collective sigh of relief from his remaining family members.

"Actually, Mum, we don't really need any new books, either," George said. "Between Charlie and Percy's old ones, we're sorted."

"We do need new robes, though," Fred reminded their mother. "Mine are nearly above my knees, now."

"Oh, well, it can't be avoided," Molly sighed. "We'll head over to Madam Malkin's next."

"Why don't I go and get my books while you're buying robes?" Ginny asked. "I promised I won't leave Flourish and Blotts."

For a second, Molly looked conflicted but fortunately she was saved from making a decision by the cries of an enthusiastic young woman.

"Ginny! There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" said a bushy-haired young witch who appeared out of nowhere and threw her arms around Ginny.

"Hermione! I should have guessed you'd be somewhere near a bookshop," Ginny laughed.

"You know me too well," Hermione agreed. "Hello, Mrs Weasley. How are you?"

"Hello, Hermione dear, I'm very well. Oh, and your parents are here, too, I see," Molly said, indicating to the nervous pair of Muggles who were loitering near the entrance to the bookshop and observing their daughter guardedly.

"Mum, if Mr and Mrs Granger are here, surely you can leave me here for a bit, can't you?" Ginny pointed out.

"I suppose so," Molly acknowledged. "But don't go wandering off anywhere else, alright?"

"No problems," Ginny agreed. "If you run into Harry and Sirius tell them where we are, okay?"

"Naturally," Molly smirked before heading off with the twins in tow.

"So, you haven't seen Harry yet?" Hermione asked as they started walking towards the bookshop.

"Nah, but it's still a bit early for Sirius to be up and about," Ginny said. "I'm sure he only does it to annoy Harry."

"Probably," Hermione sniggered as they approached her parents. "That does sound like something Sirius would do."

"Hi, Mr and Mrs Granger," Ginny greeted her friend's parents warmly. She almost sighed audibly as she as in turn received frosty glares.

"Ginny said hello," Hermione told her parents forcibly. "It would be polite if you replied to her."

"Don't take that tone with me, young lady," Jane Granger scolded her daughter.

"Well, stop acting like a pair of five-year-olds," Hermione raged. "This has been going on all summer and I'm sick of it!"

"You watch your tongue, Hermione Jean!" John Granger warned her. "You show some respect for your mother."

"I'll show respect when you start listening to me and stop treating me like some lovesick little puppy," Hermione snapped back.

"Hermione, do you mind if I speak to your parents alone for five minutes?" Ginny asked.

"What?" Hermione exclaimed in surprise. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I think it would be for the best," Ginny assured her.

"Alright, I'll just be inside," Hermione agreed, evidently to her parents' great surprise. "I'll see you in a few minutes.

As soon as Hermione had vanished inside Flourish and Blotts, Ginny turned to face the Grangers. They stared back at her with unfriendly expressions on their faces.

"Why don't you trust your daughter?" Ginny asked abruptly.

"What are you talking about?" John Granger barked. "Of course we trust our daughter. It's some of her friends we're not so sure about."

"So, you don't actually trust Hermione to pick her own friends, then?" Ginny retorted.

"Hermione is still a young girl and not very worldly," Jane Granger replied in a cold voice. "As her parents, it's up to us to protect her from those that would take advantage of her or hurt her."

"Really? And how do you know anyone is trying to hurt her? What evidence do you have of that? The only way you know what's going on in Hermione's life during school time is via her letters, in other words, what she tells you. So, when she tells you that she and Harry were never romantically interested in each other, why don't you believe her?" Ginny asked coolly.

"Don't give me that!" snapped Jane Granger. "I think I know my own daughter, thank you very much, and I can tell she's been heartbroken all summer. I don't need some little tart coming up to me and telling me otherwise."

"And why do you assume its Harry she's heartbroken about?" Ginny asked, ignoring the older woman's insult for the moment.

"Well… it's obvious, isn't it?" Jane replied, although she suddenly sounded a little less certain of herself.

"Really, is it?" Ginny said, letting a little sarcasm creep into her voice. "Tell me, have you noticed that Hermione hasn't had any letters from her other best friend, my brother Ron? Don't you think that's a bit unusual?"

"I assumed they'd had a fight," Jane replied. "They're always fighting."

"They certainly used to," Ginny confirmed, "when they were still friends, anyway. Let me put something to you; imagine that Hermione really liked a boy, but he'd never shown her any affection, despite that fact that she knew fairly certainly that he liked her back. How do you think she'd treat him?"

"Why, she'd probably tell the foolish boy exactly what she thought of him," John told her. "She speaks her mind, does my Hermione."

"She does at that," Ginny agreed. "But as you said earlier, she's not exactly worldly, is she? So imagine she's too unsure of herself to come out and tell this boy exactly how she felt about him. How would she treat him then?"

Jane Granger groaned and her shoulders slumped. Her husband looked at her in alarm.

"Jane? What's the matter dear" he asked.

"Oh, John, we've made a massive mistake," she moaned.

"What?" John exclaimed in confusion.

"It wasn't Harry that Hermione has been pining over, it was that Weasley boy," Jane told him in a resigned voice.

"Ron Weasley?" John gasped. "But in her letters Hermione's always criticising that boy. She's always saying how frustrated and annoying he is and… oh."

The penny dropped and John Granger's expression suddenly matched his wife's.

"Hermione thinks of Harry as a brother," Ginny told them gently. "She really loves him, but only as a sibling would. It was my brother that she's been carrying a torch for. Sadly, Ron did something very stupid last year and it completely destroyed the relationship between them. Hermione had always hoped that Ron would grow up a bit and mature into the boy of her dreams, but his actions proved that's just never going to happen. That's why Hermione's been upset."

"And we've been keeping her away from her friends when she's needed them the most," Jane gasped. "Oh, she must hate us."

"Hermione has a great heart," Ginny assured them. "Just apologise to her for not believing her and I'm sure things will settle down eventually. That was probably the thing that hurt her the most, I imagine; that her parents wouldn't trust her when she told them what was going on."

"What about that foreign lad?" John asked frowning. "What was all that about, then?"

"Oh, Viktor? He just really liked Hermione and I think she was quite intrigued by him," Ginny explained. "Sadly, I don't think it would ever work, though. Viktor is a bit old for her and, of course, lives in Bulgaria. I don't think any relationship would survive that separation."

"So, Hermione didn't just go out with this boy just to make Ron or Harry jealous?" John asked cautiously.

"John!" Jane exclaimed in horror. "How can you accuse our daughter of that?"

"I'm just worried about her," John admitted. "Hermione's changed so much since she started attending that school that sometimes I barely recognise my little girl."

"She's growing up, Mr Granger," Ginny told him. "That would happen no matter what school she went to. But trust me; Hermione is the last person you want to worry about having loose morals. She's a kind, considerate person, but she has her head screwed on, too. I'm not saying she won't make mistakes, she yearned after Ron for long enough for example, but that's all part of growing up. You need to learn to trust her."

John and Jane Granger looked at each other in consternation.

"Ginny!" a voice called suddenly, making them all jump.

"Harry," Ginny called back as soon as she caught sight of her raven-haired boyfriend hurrying towards her.

As soon as he reached her, he threw his arms around her and pulled her into a kiss. She giggled at his enthusiastic welcome.

"Harry, it's only been a couple of days since you saw me," she laughed, "you're acting like it was years!"

"It's been too long for me, anyway," he grinned, before suddenly sobering as he caught sight of Hermione's parents. "Oh, hello, Mr and Mrs Granger. Is Hermione about?"

"Hello, Harry," Jane Granger replied. "Yes, she's in the bookshop. I think she's looking forward to seeing you."

"Oh, good," Harry replied uncertainly, evidently surprised at the friendly welcome he was receiving. "I'll just go in and find her, then."

"Yes, that's a good idea," John replied. "We'll wait out here so you two can catch-up"

"Err… thanks," Harry replied, even more confused. "Coming, Ginny?"

"Yeah, I need to pick up a few books and no doubt Hermione will need a hand in carrying all her purchases," Ginny said smiling.

"You're probably right," Harry said, grinning back. He took her hand and began to lead her into the shop. Just as they were entering a voice called to them.

"Ginny?" Jane Granger called.

"Yes, Mrs Granger?" she replied, turning to face the woman.

"Thank you," Jane said earnestly.

"No problems," Ginny replied, before she and Harry entered the book shop in search of their bushy-haired friend.


	8. Chapter 8 – Back to School

**Chapter 8 – Back to School**

**AN**

Huge thanks as always to Arnel. By the way, no, apparently she doesn't require sleep. ****

* * *

"Oh, do come along, Fred! We're going to miss the train at this rate," Molly Weasley moaned, "and don't think I don't know what you're up to, George Weasley! You get rid of that thing immediately! Oh, were has Ronald gone now?"

"I think I heard him say something about spotting Neville," Ginny supplied.

"He's just vanished off to find his friend without even saying goodbye?" Molly said in an outraged voice. "I'm going to have words with that young man."

"Don't be too hard on him, Mum," Fred said sarcastically. "After all, he's a prefect now and far too important to be seen with the likes of us."

Ginny could only smirk at her brother's comment. The twins had taken every opportunity to tell their mother exactly what a bad idea they thought making Ron a prefect had been. Ginny hadn't been shy about adding her own comments, either, but Molly Weasley had been adamant that the additional responsibility would be the making of Ron. Sometimes Ginny wondered just who her mother was trying to convince.

"Just help your sister get her trunk onto the train, please," Mrs Weasley said in a pained voice.

"Of course," George replied. "As little Gin-Gin's knight in shining armour appears to be absent at the moment, we'll happily step into the breach."

"Harry's probably already on the train," Ginny pointed out, "as would we be if we hadn't had to turn around twice because some pair of idiots forgot to pack their Quidditch gear."

"It's not our fault that we are dreamers and visionaries," George said loftily. "Our thoughts are above such mundane matters."

"Yeah, you just keep telling yourselves that," Ginny snorted.

"Will you please just all get onto the train!" Molly shouted. "It's about to leave!"

"Then our timing is perfect!" Fred announced before kissing his mother on the cheek. "Bye, Mum, hope you don't miss us too much."

"I'll be glad to see the back of the pair of you," she replied, accepting a kiss from George. They all knew she didn't mean it in the slightest.

"Bye, Mum," Ginny said, also offering her mother a peck on the cheek. "I'll write every week."

"Thank you, Ginny," Molly said, pulling her daughter into a hug. "Give Harry my love when you see him and remember to invite him and Sirius over for Christmas."

"I will," she promised and hurried after her brothers who had already boarded the train with her trunk in their possession.

"Where to, ickle Gin-Gin?" George asked as she caught up with him.

"Harry normally tries to grab the last compartment, so I guess we'll try there," she replied.

Sure enough, they found the Boy Who Lived in the last compartment of the last carriage, already settled in with Hermione and Luna also there. Ginny pulled her boyfriend into a hug as soon as she saw him.

"I was getting worried," Harry confessed. "The train was nearly ready to leave the station and there was no sign of you."

"Blame it on my goldfish-brained brothers," Ginny snorted. "I'm beginning to think they wanted to play Quidditch in their underwear this year."

"Hey, that's not a bad idea," Fred said happily. "No doubt all the female opposition would be so mesmerised by our god-like physique that they won't be able to concentrate on the game."

"You do remember that all the Slytherin team is male, don't you?" Harry asked. "Or are you hoping that they'll start lusting after you, too?"

"You're right, Mr Potter," George said solemnly. "Despite them being slimy snakes they are still only human, and the sight of us in all our glory might cause them too much temptation. It's hard being a sex-symbol, it really is."

"Have you two been sniffing your potion experiments again?" Ginny teased. "They appear to have made you massively delusional."

"Oh, Ginny, don't be like that. Just because you managed to trap yourself Harry 'God's gift to witches' Potter, there's no need to look down on others," Fred tutted. "Don't sneer at me just because I'm beautiful."

"Fine, so why don't you two take your beautiful bodies and go and find Angelina and Alicia," Ginny suggested. "I'm sure they would appreciate them more than me."

"Excellent suggestion, my exquisite sister," George exclaimed. "Come, my handsome brother! Let us find some ladies more deserving of our marvellous company."

"Indeed, farewell, sweet Ginevra," Fred cried. "Don't do anything we wouldn't do."

"Well, that leaves me plenty of room for manoeuvre," Ginny muttered before taking a seat next to Harry. "Hi, Luna; how was the rest of your holiday?"

"Very nice, thank you, Ginny," Luna replied with a smile. "After Harry's birthday party, Father and I visited Mali in search of the Greater-Horned Jarwobbler."

"Did you find one?" Hermione asked with exaggerated patience.

"No, but it's not really surprising," Luna admitted.

"Why was it not surprising?" Hermione asked with the expression of someone who knows they are walking into a trap but just can't help themselves.

"Because the Greater-Horned Jarwobbler is found in Madagascar," Luna replied calmly.

There was silence for about ten seconds before Hermione's logic-powered brain forced the question through the girl's lips.

"So, if you were looking for a Greater-Horned Jarwobbler, and you know they live in Madagascar, why didn't you go to Madagascar?" she asked in a strangled voice.

"Because the Portkey we had went to Mali," Luna explained.

"See, there's a logical explanation for everything, Hermione," Harry chuckled.

Ginny did her best to stifle her own giggles while wondering when Hermione had developed that nervous tic.

"So, who wants to make a bet?" Harry asked suddenly, possibly in an effort to stop Hermione attacking Luna. "Who'll be first to pay us an unwelcome visit: Malfoy or new prefect Ron?"

"I can't believe they made Ron a prefect!" Hermione huffed.

"Congratulations on your own appointment, by the way," Ginny said. "At least you know that you earned your badge."

"Yes, and getting it feels completely devalued now," Hermione replied in a gloomy voice. "And I'll have to do patrols with him now. Actually, speaking of prefects, I'd better head off to the meeting. Can someone keep an eye on Crookshanks for me?"

"Of course," Ginny confirmed. She'd always got on well with Hermione's squashed-face cat.

"Thanks, see you all later," Hermione said and vanished out of the compartment.

"I hope she'll be okay patrolling with Ron," Harry fretted. "He said some very nasty things about Hermione last year, and he's not exactly known for keeping his temper, is he?"

"He'd better, otherwise he'll find that… oh, hold on. It looks like we've got our first visitor of the trip!" Ginny noted as the compartment door slid open.

Ginny reached into her robes and grasped her wand firmly. Neither Ron nor Draco posed much of a threat in her mind, but that didn't mean she was going to meekly sit there and accept abuse from either one of them. In the end, however, the visitor wasn't either of the expected protagonists. It was Neville Longbottom.

"What do you want, Longbottom?" Harry asked in a cold voice.

"I'm not here to cause trouble, I swear," Neville said, holding his hands out to show he was unarmed.

"Just as well," Harry growled.

"Look, I know I was a bit of a prat last year, and I'm sorry. I know I followed Ron's lead in everything, but I'd never had a best friend before and I didn't want to make him angry at me. I guess it all just went a bit too far," Neville said apologetically.

"Just a bit," Harry spat. "You were going to hex Ginny in the back, you coward!"

"I know, I… I was just angry at her for not wanting to come to the ball with me," he said miserably.

"How can you be angry at me for that?" Ginny demanded. "I wasn't even your first choice. You only asked me because Hermione was hinting at it. Besides, you should expect to find people already have partners if you leave it to the last minute to ask them. And what you said about Luna was rotten."

Neville nervously glanced at the blond girl in question who was regarding him calmly.

"Yeah, I know I was out of line," he admitted. "I don't actually even think I've ever spoken a word to her in my life. I was just reacting based on what everyone else said about her. Sorry, Luna."

"You'll have more friends if you stopped worrying about what other people think about you and you try to be yourself," Luna advised. "Stop following Ron around like a lost sheep would be a good idea, too. Oh, and you should also change your socks more often."

"Eh?" Neville said in a bemused tone.

"Okay, your apology is accepted," Harry interrupted, "but you're still not totally forgiven for nearly attacking Ginny. If I even think you're going to try something…"

"But that's why I'm here!" Neville said insistently. "Ron's up to something and I want no part in it."

"What?" Ginny exclaimed. "What is my idiot brother planning now?"

"I don't know exactly, but something weird is going on," Neville explained. "Ron's been acting strange all summer. When he first came over to my house I thought he was just impressed by Longbottom Manor, but then he started saying strange things, like this was the sort of place that all pure-bloods should live in and how his house was 'beneath' him. At times he sounded more like Draco Malfoy than a Weasley! And he kept going on about you, Harry; how you'd cheated him out of a place in the Triwizard Tournament and how you shouldn't be around Ginny. He really hates you now!"

"Yeah, well, I'm not too keen on him at the moment," Harry noted.

"You should really watch him this term, Harry. He kept dropping hints that he had this great plan to get you. He wouldn't tell me what it was, only that it would destroy your reputation," Neville warned.

"Plenty of others have already tried to do that and I can't see Ron having the cunning to do anything too clever," Harry shrugged.

"I think he's getting help from someone, though," Neville advised. "A few times while he's been visiting, Ron has said he needed to go home early, but I swear that the Floo address he used wasn't the Burrow."

"Could you hear where he went?" Harry asked.

"Nah, he was always careful to speak very quietly, but I'm convinced that the last part of the address was 'manor'," Neville replied.

Ginny frowned. "Okay, that is weird," she said. "Ron most definitely doesn't know anyone who lives at a manor, other than you, Neville. I think we will need to keep a careful eye on my brother."

"Yeah, thanks for the warning, Neville," Harry nodded at the boy. "It's really appreciated."

"I'll try and let you know if I hear anything else," Neville informed him. "I'd better get back now, the prefect meeting won't be lasting too much longer and I want to be back in my compartment before Ron returns."

And with that Neville vanished back up the corridor. Harry stood and pulled the door shut again and looked at the two girls questioningly.

"What do you think Ron's up to?" he asked. "Ruining my reputation? That doesn't sound like Ron, at all."

"Nah, swinging his fists about is more his style," Ginny agreed. "We need to be really careful, especially as Ron will be back sleeping in the same dorm room as you this term. Make sure that the Marauders Map and your Invisibility Cloak are hidden away and Ron can't get his hands on them. I wouldn't put it past him to stage something using one of those items and blame it on you."

"That's simple enough to avoid. I'll just give them to you to look after," Harry shrugged.

"Good idea," she agreed, "and make sure you cast Alarm Charms on everything you own and around your bed at night. We learnt enough nasty ones during the summer, after all."

"I'll try and keep an eye on Ron, too," Luna offered. "People seem to try to ignore me most of the time so I can largely go unnoticed around the castle. I'll see if I can do a bit of quiet snooping when he's around."

"Thanks, Luna," Harry said affectionately. "You know we'll never ignore you, don't you?"

"I certainly hope not," Luna smiled. "Besides, I'm still hoping that Ginny will give me use of you on Wednesdays."

"We'll see, Luna," Ginny giggled, amused at Harry's suddenly red face.

Hermione returned to the compartment shortly afterwards, unsurprisingly complaining that both Ron and Draco Malfoy had been disruptive and arrogant during the prefects meeting, to the point that the Head Boy had nearly thrown the pair of them out. Ginny was seriously considering suggesting a side bet as to how long Ron would retain his prefect status when the compartment door slid open again revealing a smug looking Draco Malfoy. Oddly, the boy just stood there, leaning against the doorframe and smiling.

"Can we help you with something, Malfoy?" Harry demanded in an exasperated voice.

"Nah, I'm good," Malfoy replied in a self-satisfied manner.

"What are you doing here?" Ginny growled, her temper rising by the moment.

"No need to be so hostile, little Weasel," Malfoy mocked. "If you must know, I'm just committing this scene to memory. You see, this will be the last time I'll be able to see you four on the Hogwarts Express. I will so miss our little chats."

"Please tell me you're transferring to another school," Ginny begged. "Somewhere more suited to bigoted morons like you."

"Oh, I'm not going anywhere," Malfoy sneered, "but you and lover boy over there will be soon. In fact, I hear the cemetery is preparing a nice place for the pair of you: six feet under! Hopefully you'll be taking the freak and the Mudblood with you, too."

"Get out, Malfoy," Harry yelled, leaping to his feet.

Draco just laughed at Harry's anger and turned to leave. "I would say it's been nice knowing you, Potter, but we both know that would be a lie, don't we?" he called over his shoulder. "Have a nice funeral!"

Harry stormed over and slammed the door shut, rattling the glass in the process. Ginny looked over at her boyfriend in concern.

"Is it my imagination or did Malfoy seem more confident than usual?" Luna speculated airily.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked sharply. "He was just his usual obnoxious self."

"Yes, but normally he just stands there and insults everyone," Luna pointed out. "This time he barely said anything nasty about us, other than we're going to die, of course."

"I think that's bad enough, Luna," Ginny huffed.

"Maybe, but doesn't Draco usually start ranting about how we're all blood-traitors and Mudbloods, and that Harry's a stupid scar-head that's going to get his this term? Most of the time he just stood there looking smug," Luna pointed out.

"Do you think he knows something we don't?" Harry asked.

"Possibly," Ginny sighed. "It looks like we're going to have to keep an eye on Draco as well as Ron."

"Great," Harry moaned.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Pretty soon, the Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade and there was the usual mad rush to disembark. Harry and the three girls stuck together and managed to get one of the carriages to themselves. Ginny purposely tried to avoid looking at the Thestral that was pulling the carriage, now clearly visible to her. She fully intended to avoid the Astronomy Tower this term if she could, too.

They had just disembarked from the carriage when a familiar voice called out to Harry. They looked over to see Professor McGonagall beckoning to him.

"Mister Potter, I wonder if I might have a word with you?" the Professor asked in a crisp tone.

"Of course, Professor," Harry agreed, "but you can talk to me in front of my friends, if you wish. I have nothing to hide from any of them."

McGonagall looked at Ginny and her friends thoughtfully for a second before sighing.

"I suppose what I have to say affects them as much as it does you, particularly Miss Granger," she acknowledged. "I wanted to talk to you about the decision to make Ronald Weasley a prefect this year. I don't know how Miss Weasley feels about her brother being given the position…"

"It's ridiculous!" Ginny interrupted. "He's done nothing to earn it and I don't for a moment think he's going to take the job seriously. He'll just strut around with the badge on his chest acting like he's a big shot."

"Sadly, I share your reservations," McGonagall admitted. "Never in my time at Hogwarts has anyone with such poor marks for their schoolwork been given such a position. It's a travesty."

"Then why was he given the badge?" Hermione asked intently.

"I did not want him to have it. I was… overruled," McGonagall practically growled. Ginny was left in no doubt just how much the stern woman objected to having her will ignored.

"Don't tell me," Harry sighed. "This was the Headmaster's idea, wasn't it?"

"Yes, Potter, I'm afraid it was. While I can just about understand his reasoning, I feel it is a totally inappropriate position for someone who was very nearly expelled last year. Strangely, the Headmaster seemed convinced this would be the making of young Mister Weasley and insisted on his appointment.

"I bet my mum helped him arrive at that idea, didn't she?" Ginny muttered.

"Actually, Miss Weasley, I'm not sure either your mother or father thought it was such a good idea, but Professor Dumbledore was adamant this was the right course to follow," McGonagall admitted. "While I wish to give Mister Weasley the benefit of the doubt, I would ask that all of you report directly to me if you witness him abusing his position in any way. Miss Granger, I know the pair of you had something of a falling out last term and I appreciate you may feel uncomfortable working with him now, but I would ask that you do your best and, of course, my door is always open if you have any problems."

"Thank you, Professor," Hermione said, and was closely echoed by Harry and Ginny.

"I meant what I said at the end of last term," McGonagall assured them. "I've done a poor job protecting my pupils from harm in recent years, particularly you, Harry. I don't intend to repeat those mistakes again."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said warmly. "You've always been my favourite teacher, you know."

The woman smiled, almost in embarrassment, before making her excuses and leaving rapidly.

"Why do I get the feeling this is going to be a very long term?" Hermione sighed.

The others could only agree with her.

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"Zeller, Rose," McGonagall called out.

The small, frightened-looking girl hurried over and sat on the small stool. Almost as soon as the Sorting Hat touched her head it cried out 'Hufflepuff' in a loud voice. Ginny watched in amusement as the girl practically sprinted towards the safety of her new House's table. It seemed like only five minutes ago that she was in the same situation.

"Welcome, one and all," Dumbledore announced in a ringing voice, "to new faces and old hands alike. There is a time for speeches, but this is not it. Everyone, tuck in!"

The table in front of her was instantaneously covered in plates and dishes groaning with food. Ginny helped herself to several thick slices of glazed ham before she started loading food onto Harry's plate.

"Ginny! You don't have to keep forcing food down my throat, you know," Harry protested. "I'm eating plenty now, thank you very much."

"Ah, but you don't know what I've got planned for the next stage of your fitness regime, do you?" she taunted. "Trust me; you're going to need lots of extra energy, so eat up."

"I knew I was dreading this new term for a reason," he lamented. "I swear you get some perverse pleasure in torturing me."

"Oh, stop moaning. You've had it easy over the holidays, it's time to really buckle down and get into proper training again," Ginny told him in a no-nonsense fashion.

"Do you think that I could join your training sessions this term?" Hermione asked nervously.

"I don't see why not," Ginny agreed. "Dobby has managed to find us a nice out-of-the-way place to train that has plenty of room. Luna will probably be joining us, too."

"Wonderful," Hermione beamed. "I'm really looking forward to it."

"I wouldn't if I were you," Harry muttered.

"Shut up, you," Ginny said, playfully cuffing him over the head.

"Getting a beating again, Harry?" George called from further down the table. "What have you done to upset our sweet-natured and entirely non-violent sister now?"

"Does she need a reason?" Harry asked with a straight face.

"Not normally," Fred agreed, peering around Angelina.

"You three really will be getting a beating if you carry on like this," Ginny warned.

"Sorry, dear," Harry said in a completely insincere voice. "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

"Yeah, stop hanging around Sirius; he's obviously a very bad influence on you," she replied with an arched eyebrow.

Harry just smirked and then turned his attention back to his plate.

"And now we've digested another magnificent meal, I beg your attention for the usual start of term notices," Dumbledore announced after the meal was finished. "Firstly, Mr Filch has asked me to remind you…"

"This is going to be interesting," Ginny declared as the Headmaster continued his welcome speech.

"Why? What's going to happen?" Hermione asked.

"Wait and see," Harry grinned.

"…and we have two changes in staffing this year. We are pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons. We are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

As a round of polite applause echoed around the hall, Ginny turned to Harry.

"Where's Hagrid?" she wondered. "We still have things we need to ask him about."

Harry shrugged. "Tonks just said he was doing some task for Dumbledore. She had no idea when he would be back."

"Try-outs for the house Quidditch teams will take place on…" Dumbledore continued before he was silenced by someone clearing their throat loudly. The Headmaster turned to see Professor Umbridge rising to her feet.

"If I might be permitted to say a few words, Headmaster? Thank you," Umbridge said, turning towards the students before Dumbledore even had a chance to reply. "Well, I must say how lovely it is to be back here at Hogwarts again, and to see all your happy, little faces looking up at me."

Ginny quietly sniggered.

"What the Headmaster regretfully failed to mention is that I'm here in a dual capacity this year. In addition to teaching all of you how to defend yourself against enemies of the state, no matter what form they may be in, I'm also here to conduct a thorough and exhaustive review of the school and its teaching methods. To that end, you may see me attending classes other than my own so I can assess the effectiveness of the lessons and the professionalism of the staff," Umbridge explained in a sickeningly-sweet voice.

At this declaration several of the staff looked outraged. Ginny couldn't help but smile at the furious expression on Snape's face.

"Sadly, Hogwarts has fallen behind in European school league tables and several overseas establishments are consistently scoring higher percentages in NEWT and OWL pass rates. Clearly, the Ministry is concerned by this slip in standards and will do everything it can to ensure that you all receive the finest education possible. Naturally, I will be looking at all aspects of the running of the school and if any of you pupils have any suggestions as to how it might be improved I will be setting up a suggestions-box outside my office. Anything you wish to disclose will, of course, be completely confidential."

"Oh, just think how many people will be putting in complaints about Snape," Harry whispered gleefully. "He'll be up to his neck in it!"

"I would also like to mention that lessons this coming Friday are to be cancelled as we will be undertaking a staff training day," Umbridge announced, much to the evident surprise of all the teachers, Dumbledore included. "Thank you for your attention and I hope we can all work together to return Hogwarts to its rightful place as the premier education facility in the world!"

A thunderous round of applause followed Umbridge's words, no doubt inspired by the extra-long weekend the pupils were about to receive. Ginny carefully watched the teachers' reactions: McGonagall looked almost embarrassed, probably unhappy that Hogwarts' reputation had been called into questions. Snape was livid and his normally pale face was flushed red with anger. Several teachers, notably Trelawney, looked rather frightened by the whole thing, but the face Ginny most carefully examined was that of the Headmaster. Dumbledore sat expressionless, staring straight ahead of him, displaying no apparent emotion at all.

"You knew this was going to happen, didn't you?" Hermione accused them. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"We didn't know exactly what was going to happen," Ginny replied. "Besides, isn't this a nice surprise?"

"Nice surprise? How can the Ministry interfering in the running of Hogwarts be a nice surprise?" she demanded.

"Oh, come on, Hermione," Harry reasoned. "I'm sure if you think about it there are loads of things you'd like to see improved around here. Wouldn't you like to see a better History teacher, for example?"

"Or a Potions Professor who actually teaches his pupils something rather than just trying to belittle them?" Ginny suggested.

"Addition extra-curricular activities? Better career guidance? More up-to-date teaching methods?" Harry added.

"Okay, I see your point, and actually now you mention it I can think of a few other things I'd like to suggest, but do you honestly believe handing control of Hogwarts over to the Ministry is a good idea?" Hermione asked doubtfully.

"Don't worry, Hermione," Ginny grinned. "We have a contingency plan for dealing with Dolores Umbridge if she takes things too far."

"Are you going to tell me what it is?" Hermione demanded.

"Where would be the fun in that?" Harry asked in mock surprise.

"Sometimes, I rue the day you two got together. Things were a lot simpler before then," Hermione lamented.

"But you still love us, don't you?" Ginny asked cheekily.

"Sadly, I do," Hermione replied, grimacing.

The feast ended shortly afterwards and Hermione rushed off to guide the first-years to the common room. Harry and Ginny allowed the crush to disburse before they stood and headed out of the hall. They hadn't got very far when a voice called to them.

"Harry? I wonder if I might ask that you spare me a few minutes of your time," Dumbledore asked, approaching them with a friendly smile on his face. "I would like to have a brief chat with you in my office, if I may."

"Err, can I just have a moment with Ginny and then I'll catch you up?" Harry requested, casting a nervous glace at his girlfriend.

"Of course, my boy," the Headmaster replied magnanimously. "I shall expect you in a few moments. The password is Jelly Slugs."

"I'll be right there," Harry promised and waited until the Headmaster had vanished from sight before turning to Ginny.

"Do you want to try doing what we discussed?" he asked.

"Now seems the perfect time," she agreed. "We need to test exactly how good Dumbledore is at detecting when he's being spied upon. I'll wear the Invisibility Cloak and follow you into his office."

"And if he can see through the Cloak?" Harry asked.

"Then we'll know we can't watch him by that method," she responded. "But I'm convinced he only detected you before by silently casting a Homenum Revelio spell. It's possible that his glasses are charmed, of course, but I don't think so. I'll try and stay out of his line of sight, anyway."

"Cool, let's give this a try, then," Harry decided and hurried after the Headmaster with Ginny close behind.

They climbed up to the seventh-floor and paused just around the corner to the entrance to the Headmaster's office. Ginny pulled Harry's Cloak from her bag and threw it over herself. She cast several Anti-Detection and Silencing Charms before she whispered to Harry that she was ready. They then headed down the corridor where Harry gave the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to the office the appropriate password. Ginny kept her hand on Harry's shoulder as they went up the spiral staircase so he knew where she was, and she stayed tight to him as they finally entered Dumbledore's office.

"Ah, Harry, there you are. Thank you for not keeping me waiting too long," Dumbledore said warmly as Harry entered. As soon as they were through the door, Ginny hurried over to the far side of the office where she positioned herself slightly behind the Headmaster.

"No problem, sir," Harry replied. "What was it you wanted to speak to me about?"

Ginny looked around nervously. The Headmaster gave no indication that he was aware she was in the room. As she glanced about her eyes suddenly locked with a pair of black ones that were staring at her intently. Fawkes! Would Dumbledore's familiar give her away? Soundlessly, she put a finger to her lips trying to convey the need for silence to the bird. She was amazed when Fawkes seemed to nod in her direction and then tuck his head under his wing, as if he was going to sleep. Breathing a sigh of relief, she turned her attention back to the conversation.

"I just wanted a friendly little chat, my boy. You know, I've been worried about you this summer," Dumbledore said.

"Really? Why? I was a damn sight safer with my godfather than I was with those magic-hating relatives of mine," Harry said, struggling to keep the anger from his voice.

"Things are not always as straightforward as they appear, Harry. While I admit your aunt and uncle were less than desirable guardians, the protection that your family's house gave you was unmatched. I fear that even with the protections Sirius has placed on Grimmauld Place you are now more vulnerable than you ever have been," Dumbledore said sadly.

"I'm not going back," Harry said flatly.

"I cannot make you and, in any event, without you there over the summer to recharge the protections, the wards have collapsed and cannot be repaired. I only hope we don't live to regret their passing," Dumbledore lamented.

Ginny could clearly see the look of relief on Harry's face at the news he would never again be forced to return to Privet Drive.

"However, the past is the past and we cannot dwell on what might have been," Dumbledore continued. "No, what I really wanted to ask you was if you would reconsider your version of what happened at Little Hangleton graveyard last term. While I understand your reasoning, I must say I was disappointed that you chose to withhold the truth about what happened that day. It is vital that the wizarding world is alerted to Voldemort's continued existence so they can prepare."

"As far as I'm concerned I told the truth, sir," Harry said coldly. "When I left the graveyard there was no sign of Voldemort. He has not returned, and I would be lying if I said otherwise."

"But he is attempting to return, is he not?" Dumbledore pressed. "At any time he could regain his body and rise to challenge us all."

"With respect, sir, that could have happened anytime in the last fourteen years," Harry pointed out. "Besides, what do you expect of me? If the population didn't believe you what chance is there that they'll believe me?"

"I rather think that the word of the Boy Who Lived carries some weight, Harry," Dumbledore said with a smile.

Harry jaw dropped. "What? How can you possible say that? Until this year, I've been hounded in the press, accused of being the Heir of Slytherin by three quarters of this school and written off as a delusional madman by the Ministry! If I stand up and say Voldemort's returned I'll be locked up!"

"Your voice alongside mine would be a great benefit, Harry," Dumbledore persisted.

"A benefit to you, maybe," Harry snorted. "For me it would be an open invitation to a load of ridicule and pain. Are you sure you're not just asking to save your reputation, Headmaster?"

"That is extremely disingenuous of you, Harry," Dumbledore noted disapprovingly.

"Is it? Or is it me just looking out for myself for a change? Because, frankly, sir, every time I listen to you I seem to end up in deep shit. Please excuse my French, sir," Harry growled. "And all for what? I could stand in the middle of Diagon Alley and scream at the top of my lungs that Voldemort's coming and no-one would believe me. I would just be called an attention seeking brat and the press would hang me out to dry."

"I'm sorry you feel like that," Dumbledore said wearily.

"I do, and what's more I don't understand why I'm treated this way. I'm supposed to have defeated Voldemort when I was fifteen months old, but I have no memory of it, other than of my mum dying. That's my supposed claim to fame; something that my mum did to protect me. Yet because of that I'm singled out and made to face life threatening situations every year. Why? Why does this happen? Why is Voldemort so determined to kill me?" Harry demanded.

"I cannot tell you that, Harry. Perhaps in a few years' time when you are ready, I promise that I will explain everything to you, but in the meantime I'm afraid you'll just have to trust me," the Headmaster said.

"Trust you?" Harry repeated in disbelief. "Why the hell should I trust you? You ask everything from me and give nothing in return. You treat me like some little child and then expect me to fight Voldemort for you. You condemned me to a life of misery with the Dursleys and expect me to believe it was for my own good. You claim my safety is the most important thing to you, and yet ever since I stepped foot into your school I've faced death more times then I care to think about. I'm 'supposed' to be safe here at Hogwarts, but I've faced a possessed teacher, trolls, disguised Death Eaters, Dementors, an enchanted diary and a sixty-foot basilisk! You've stood by and done nothing while Snape tormented me for being the son of James Potter, remained silent while I was accused of being the Heir of Slytherin and did sod all to dispel the belief that I entered myself in the Triwizard Tournament, yet expected me to risk ridicule and resentment by backing up your unilateral declaration that Voldemort had returned!"

Dumbledore stared at Harry silently as the young man rattled off his list of grievances. He remained expressionless, but Ginny thought she saw pain reflected in the old man's eyes.

"And what have I ever asked in return?" Harry demanded. "All I wanted to have a normal childhood, but that was too much to ask, wasn't it? And now, I ask you one question. One question that would explain to me why my parents died and I've lived my entire life in fear of being killed by the forces of evil. But will you give me an answer? No, you won't even give me that."

"Harry, I really think…" Dumbledore began.

"SHUT UP!" Harry bellowed, surprising the Headmaster into silence. "For once in your bloody life shut-up and listen to someone else for a change! I'm through listening to your half-truths and platitudes. You see, I think I know why you won't answer me. You don't want to give me too many clues, do you? You don't want me to figure out what you believe my role in the war against Voldemort to be, do you?"

"And what, prey, do you think I envisage for your future, Harry?" Dumbledore asked sternly.

"You plan for me to die fighting Voldemort, don't you?" Harry said accusingly.

"Harry, that's preposterous! I have no such desire, I assure you," Dumbledore protested.

"Don't lie to me!" Harry practically screamed. "I'm sick of your lies! I know what this bloody scar on my forehead means! I know that you think I have to die if Voldemort is to be destroyed, too."

Dumbledore stared at Harry in horror. "Who told you such things?" he gasped.

"Indirectly, Voldemort did," Harry shrugged.

"Harry, he is the master of lies! You must not believe him," the Headmaster cried in distress.

"Look me in the eyes," Harry said calmly. "Look me in the eyes and tell me I haven't got a piece of Voldemort's soul stuck inside me."

For a second, Ginny thought Dumbledore was going to try and bluff it out. The old man looked at Harry intently for a second, a half-formed lie on his lips, but Harry's challenging gaze must have made Dumbledore realise that subterfuge was pointless. He lowered his gaze and stared at the top of his desk in despair.

"I'm sorry, my boy," he said sadly. "I'd hoped to spare you this dreadful knowledge until you were older. I just wanted you to have some semblance of a normal life for a few more years yet."

"At last, Albus Dumbledore tells the truth," Harry snorted. "Will you tell me the prophecy now?"

Dumbledore looked startled that Harry knew of this, too. Then the sad expression returned to his face.

"I cannot tell you the prophecy's exact content, Harry," he said mournfully. "If Voldemort was to discover its exact wording it would be a disaster for all of us and, regrettably, your mind is not a secure place, especially not from him."

"I see," Harry said in a cold voice. "Then you and I are finished, Headmaster. I will not be your willing puppet and I will not be your sacrifice. I will fight Voldemort, but it will be on my own terms. But trust me when I say, Dumbledore, that I will defeat him, and without your help."

"No, Harry," Dumbledore cried, "you can't do this alone. You need me!"

Feeling a surge of anger at the old man's presumptive words, Ginny pulled the Invisibility Cloak off and was rewarded by the sight of Dumbledore jumping in shock at her sudden appearance. She walked around the desk and stood next to Harry who was grinning at her.

"Harry's not alone, Headmaster," Ginny said in a determined voice. "He will never be alone."

And with that, Harry and Ginny turned and walked calmly out of the office, not sparing a single backward glance at the broken old man, still sitting at his desk with tears rolling down his cheeks.

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"…and that's why we haven't been able to tell you everything that's been going on," Harry explained apologetically. "Until you learn Occlumency your thoughts aren't safe from Dumbledore or Snape."

"You mean you've been receiving tutoring all summer and I've missed out because of my idiotic parents?" Hermione gasped.

"Basically, yeah," Harry confirmed. "I really wish I'd known they thought you were my girlfriend before; we could have sorted this all out back at the end of term."

"I didn't even know they thought that until I got home," Hermione moaned.

"Never mind," Ginny said soothingly. "Harry and I will do our best to pass on our new found skills to you."

"Although neither of us has learnt Legilimency yet, so we can't really test you," Harry added.

"Never mind, teach us what you can and we'll get your teacher to test us at Christmas," Luna suggested.

Ginny smiled at the enthusiasm shown by her two friends. Harry had been worried that Hermione was feeling left out of things and had insisted they explain to her exactly why they couldn't divulge their plans to her at the moment. Ginny had felt that including Luna in the discussion would be a good idea, as well, and Harry had wholeheartedly agreed. Besides, it was a good excuse for them to check out the location that Dobby had suggested they use for training and meetings: the Room of Requirement.

"Yeah, that's a good idea, Luna," Harry agreed. "Maybe you two could stay over at Grimmauld Place for a few days over the Christmas holidays. Sirius won't mind."

"Really, Harry, trying to entice pretty young witches you sleep in your house? Are you trying to form a harem or something?" Ginny teased.

"I only need one witch," Harry declared flatly. Clearly, he had learned his lesson back at his birthday party earlier in the year.

"Now what am I going to do on Wednesdays?" Luna moaned.

"Anyway, if you are in agreement, Ginny and I will set up a training schedule for us all for the next few months," Harry explained, desperately trying to get the conversation back on track. "Occlumency will definitely be the priority, but I'd like to get some duelling practice in, too. I'm not convinced Umbridge is going to be much of a teacher."

"She is a high ranking Ministry official," Hermione pointed out. "I would have thought she would be reasonably competent in most subjects."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Ginny disagreed. "From what I can gather, Umbridge got her position by being a dirty and unscrupulous politician rather than through any inherent talent. She virtually admitted to us that her initial plan was not to teach anything useful because she was afraid Dumbledore was raising an army of schoolchildren."

"Really? " Hermione asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, really! Dumbledore might be off his rocker, but I can't see him raising an army of kids anytime soon," Harry snorted. "If you ask me, Umbridge is paranoid."

"At least she will be teaching us something a bit more practical now," Ginny confirmed. "We planted the idea that Dumbledore's true motivation was to deprive the Ministry of potential Auror recruits by making sure very few people pass NEWT level Defence and Potion exams."

"That's quite believable, actually," Luna noted. "The Headmaster certainly has some strange ideas when it comes to hiring teachers. And to think people call me mad."

"Well, I'm still prepared to put money on Umbridge being a crap teacher," Harry commented. "I think we'll need to train in here just to keep in practice if nothing else."

"Let's see what she's like before we make too many plans," Hermione insisted. "You never know, Professor Umbridge might be wonderful."

"Care to put some money on that, Hermione?" Harry asked. "I've got a few Galleons I'd be willing to wager."

"And me," Luna added.

"Me, too," Ginny said eagerly.

"Do I have the word 'sucker' written on my forehead?" Hermione asked. "No bet."

"Damn, I could have done with some extra cash," Ginny grinned.

"Never mind," Harry laughed. "Well, as we still have an hour or so before curfew do you ladies fancy working up a bit of a sweat?"

"I told you he was trying to put together a Harem," Ginny smirked.

"What I meant, Miss Mucky-Mind, is that we could get a bit of duelling practice in," Harry said glaring at her.

"Okay, Harry," Ginny laughed. "If that's really what you want to do with three gorgeous witches like us while we're locked away in here away from prying eyes, so be it."

"We really need some other blokes in this group," Harry moaned as the girls giggled at him.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"Potter! You're improperly dressed: detention with Flitch tonight," a hated voice yelled from behind them.

Ginny turned to see her brother, Ron, standing there smirking at them. He had his arms crossed across his chest and looked as if Christmas had come early.

"Improperly dressed?" Harry repeated in disbelief. "What's wrong with the way I'm dressed?"

"Your tie," Ron announced in triumph. "It's not done up properly and your top button is undone."

Ginny looked at Ron in bemusement. His own tie was halfway down his chest and he had two buttons undone. He couldn't be so stupid as to try and get Harry into trouble about this, could he?

"What about you?" Harry challenged. "Your tie isn't done up either!"

"Yeah, but I'm a prefect," Ron crowed. "I get to decide who's properly dressed and who isn't, and I say you aren't. And if you argue with me anymore, Potter, I'll give you detention for the entire week."

"You're an idiot, Ron," Ginny sighed. "Did you even bother to read the prefect's Rulebook that you were given?"

"Couse I read it," Ron snapped, "and don't call me an idiot, unless you want to get into trouble, too."

"Well, if you'd read the Rulebook properly, you'd know that prefects can't hand out Detentions, they can only take a limited number of House points off for infractions, "

Ginny said smugly.

"How the hell would you know?" Ron demanded angrily.

Ginny smirked. Tom Riddle had, of course, been a prefect and he had studied the rulebook thoroughly. It was far easier to get someone into trouble if you knew what the rules actually were beforehand.

"I'm right though, aren't I?" Ginny challenged.

"Alright," Ron snarled. "Five points from Gryffindor, Potter! And I'll let everyone know that you were the one who lost the House those points."

"In that case, five points from Gryffindor, Weasley," a voice called out from behind them. "You're improperly dressed, too."

"What?" Ron yelped and spun round to find an angry-looking Hermione Granger standing there. "You can't take points from me: I'm a prefect!"

"You really haven't read the Rulebook, have you?" Hermione snapped. "There is absolutely nothing in there about a prefect being exempt from losing House points. In fact, as you are in a position of responsibility, it's your duty to set higher standards. I really should take more than five points off you."

"You think you're so bloody clever, don't you?" Ron snarled. "Always got an answer for everything, haven't you? I guess that's why you have to hang around with an arsehole like Potter; no one else could stand you!"

"Like you're Mr Popularity, Ron!" Ginny snapped. "Hermione's got loads more friends than you. Keep going on this way and everyone in the Tower will hate you."

"Oh, I don't mean amongst the losers and Mudbloods of Gryffindor," Ron sneered back. "I'm amongst proper wizards and witches. Ones who haven't been corrupted."

"What do you mean, corrupted?" Harry demanded.

"You know exactly what I mean, you half-blood mongrel, if you're even that," Ron yelled.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ginny demanded loudly. "Have you lost your mind?"

"The world is going to see what a fake you are, Potter," Ron announced, ignoring his sister. "And when they do, I'm going to be laughing my socks off."

And with that, Ron turned and stalked off, never once looking behind him.

"He hates me now, doesn't he?" Hermione said sadly.

"It can't be helped, Hermione," Harry said, slipping his arm around the upset girl. "Ron really liked you, but now he thinks you've somehow betrayed him, he's gone completely the other way. I suspect that his anger and hate is really just directed at himself, but his pride won't let him admit it. Remember, none of this is your fault. He was the one who took this path and you did your best to try and convince him otherwise."

Ginny looked at her boyfriend with a mixture of shock and admiration. Harry sometimes gave the impression of being somewhat dense about relationships and people's feelings, but he'd seen straight to the heart of the matter here.

"He would have made a lousy boyfriend for you, anyway," Harry continued. "Can you imagine Ron in a serious relationship? The pair of you would have been rowing constantly."

Hermione just smiled sadly, not even bothering to deny her previous feelings for Ron.

"Well, we were wondering if my bother would start abusing his prefect status, and now we've got our answer," Ginny noted.

"Maybe, but I think he's just made a serious mistake," Hermione replied, her grin becoming rather wicked."

"How so?" Harry asked.

"I wasn't joking about prefects having to set higher standards than their classmates," Hermione explained. "Anytime a prefect loses House points they have to go before their Head of House to explain their actions. I doubt Ronald is going to enjoy standing before Professor McGonagall and explaining how he lost points because he was dressed like a scarecrow."

"And McGonagall never lets anyone get away with the same thing twice," Ginny chuckled. "Ron is going to have to be immaculately turned out from now on."

"Considering he always seems half asleep when he's getting dressed that could be a problem," Harry laughed.

"Come on, Harry," Hermione said, still chuckling. "We've got Defence next and I'm dying to find out what sort of teacher Professor Umbridge will be."

"Yeah, we shouldn't be late for that," Harry agreed. He removed his arm from around his friend and, leaning over, he kissed Ginny warmly. "See you at lunch."

"Good luck," Ginny called after their rapidly retreating forms. She would be interested to see what Umbridge was like, too, although she didn't have a class with the woman until tomorrow.

Watching Harry and Hermione vanishing down the corridor, Ginny frowned. Something Ron had said made her uncomfortable. Her brother had again hinted that there was some sort of plan or trap being laid for Harry and, as Neville had confirmed, it had something to do with ruining his reputation, although how Ron planned to do that she had no idea. She knew one thing, however, if Ron did try something to hurt Harry, then she would make sure he ended up bitterly regretting it.

And being family wouldn't save him this time, either.


	9. Chapter 9 –The Price of Love

**Chapter 9 –The Price of Love**

AN

Rather a lot going on in this chapter and I'm interested which bit is going to generate the most comments. This, of course, means I can't give any hints about what is to follow, which means this author's note section is a complete waste of time, really.

BTW, if my posting schedule goes a bit to pot from now on, you can blame it on the start of the Six Nations rugby tournament, even if I'm in shock at England losing to France in the opening game. Sob.

Huge squishy hugs to Arnel for betaing (or is that beta'ing?)

* * *

"No, no, that's not how I showed you how to do it at all!" Umbridge screeched, her normally sickly-sweet voice transformed into that of a vicious Harpy.

"I don't understand what I'm doing wrong," moaned Terrance Harper, an unpleasant Slytherin boy who was in Ginny's year. She couldn't help but smile at the look of fear and frustration on his normally smug face.

"I've explained it to you three times now, Mr Harper," Umbridge growled. "Do try to pay attention!"

Ginny nearly laughed out loud. Umbridge had indeed explained how to cast the Shield Spell three times, and each time she had done an incredibly bad job of it. As this was a spell Ginny had performed many times over the summer, she at least had an idea what their Defence Professor was trying to convey to the class. She strongly doubted, however, that anyone who had never cast the spell before would have the faintest idea how to perform it from Umbridge's confused and incomplete instructions.

A quick glance around the classroom suggested that most of her fellow pupils were sympathetic to Harper's plight, and bearing in mind how unpopular the arrogant git was, that was saying something. It had become painfully obvious from the first few moments of the class that Umbridge had no teaching ability whatsoever.

She was roused from her musings by the sound of the bell going, signifying the end of the class. Gratefully, her fellow Gryffindors and the Slytherins began to hurriedly put their books away and hurry out the door.

"For your homework I want a full description of the Shield Charm and its uses," Umbridge called out. "No less than six inches of parchment, please. Miss Weasley, could you stay behind for a moment?"

Several of her fellow Gryffindors looked over at her worriedly. Both Colin and Demzela looked like they wanted to stay behind with her, but a quick shake of her head convinced them not to make a scene. They filed out of the classroom with the rest.

"Well, you said standards were poor here, Miss Weasley, but I had no idea just how bad things were," Umbridge declared as soon as the door had shut behind the last pupil. Ginny fought down the desire to mention that the Professor's appalling teaching techniques hadn't helped.

"No, we haven't had a decent Defence teacher since I started here at Hogwarts," Ginny agreed, making a mental note to apologise to Remus later for her lie.

"I honestly don't know what we're going to do here," Umbridge declared, looking rather upset. "I will only be at Hogwarts for this school year and I can't teach all the pupils the entire Defence syllabus in that time. Dumbledore has succeeded in creating an entire generation of witches and wizards who cannot reasonably defend themselves. We'll have no new Auror recruits at all at this rate!"

An idea suddenly struck Ginny. Granted, Harry would hate it, but she didn't have time to sweet-talk him into it right now.

"Professor, it's clear that we all need as much practise as we can get in Defence," she said carefully. "How about we start a student duelling club to get extra practice? That way anyone who is interested in becoming an Auror or Hit Wizard when they leave school will have the chance to undertake extra study and hopefully get a half-decent mark in their exams."

"Well, it's not a bad idea, Miss Weasley, but I really won't have the time to teach an extra-curricular group in addition to my other responsibilities," Umbridge said, shaking her head and making the folds of lose skin around her neck wobble.

"No, of course not! You have the whole school to investigate and report on; you couldn't possibly find the time. No, I was thinking that as this was a student group it should be run by a student, too. I was thinking that Harry could teach it," Ginny suggested.

"Mr Potter?" Umbridge repeated in surprise.

"He did defeat those ex-Death Eaters at the end of last term," Ginny pointed out, ignoring the fact that it was her that had defeated Pettigrew. "And most of the school respect him. I'm sure if word got out that Harry was running the club everyone would want to join."

"While I have the greatest of respect for young Mr Potter, do you think he's up to teaching his fellow pupils?" Umbridge demanded. "It's not a job just anyone can walk into and be successful, you know."

_You should know, you useless fat cow_, Ginny thought, but smiled sweetly instead. "Oh, yes!" she replied enthusiastically. "Harry's always been excellent at Defence and, after the Ministry kindly gave him the waiver to perform magic, he's been practicing all summer. He's absolutely brilliant."

"That does sound encouraging, and it would be nice to see such a loyal supporter of the Ministry involved in his fellow pupil's education," Umbridge pondered.

"We could get Professor Flitwick to sponsor the group," Ginny continued. "He used to be a duelling champion and is one of the best professors in the school."

"Yes, he does come over as one of the more competent teachers here," Umbridge noted. "Not quite so much in Dumbledore's pocket, either."

"So, what do you think?" Ginny asked.

"Very well," Umbridge declared. "I will give my official sanction to this group. That will prevent the Headmaster from trying to stop its creation. I must warn you however, Miss Weasley, that if Mr Potter makes a mess of this whole thing, I will need to distance myself from it."

"I understand perfectly," Ginny said compliantly. In fact, the further Umbridge distanced herself the club, the better.

"Excellent," Umbridge said clapping her hands together in delight, her girly demeanour having returned in full force. "I look forward to hearing the results of your splendid little group."

Ginny left the classroom with a barely suppressed smirk on her face. Now the only problem she had was informing Harry that he had just become Hogwarts new alternative Defence teacher.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"You what?" Harry shouted in a horrified voice.

"It's really no big deal, Harry," Ginny said soothingly. "I've seen just how good you are at Defence. You'll be an absolutely brilliant teacher."

"You're seriously suggesting that I should stand up… in front of… loads of people and teach them? Are you nuts?" he demanded.

"I think it's a good idea," Hermione piped up. "We've seen what an incompetent teacher Umbridge is, and you really are the best choice to lead such a club."

"Traitor," Harry growled accusingly.

"And Ginny and I will be more than happy to help you. I'm sure I could help you put together some lesson plans, as well," Hermione continued ignoring Harry's complaints.

"Who will want to come to a club run by me, anyway?" Harry objected. "Half the school think I'm a head case."

"Oh, yes, nobody will be interested in a club run by the Boy Who Lived, who just happens to be the current Triwizard Champion," Hermione said sarcastically. "Have you actually seen what the papers have been saying about you this summer? You're a hero in the public's eyes at the moment, Harry. Anything you put your name to is bound to be an instant success."

"You could make a fortunate from advertising," Ginny mused. "I can see it now: 'Hanson's Miracle Haemorrhoid Cream – I never use anything else says Harry Potter!' You'd make a bomb!"

Harry stared at her in a decidedly unfriendly manner.

"Just think of all the pupils who are likely to fail their exams unless we do something," Hermione reasoned. "Would you want to let them down?"

"Then why don't you teach them?" Harry demanded. "You'd make a far better teacher than I ever would."

"Actually, no, I wouldn't," Hermione disagreed. "I get far too frustrated with people who don't understand what I'm trying to teach them and I don't have nearly enough patience for the job. Besides, as much as you try and deny it, you're better at Defence then I am."

"And it's your name that will get people flocking in," Ginny pointed out. "If you've got all this fame you might as well use it for something worthwhile."

Harry stared at the pair of them in a state approaching total panic.

"Please, Harry, do it for me," Ginny asked in her most pleading voice.

"You know it's the right thing to do," Hermione insisted sweetly.

"Gah!" Harry shouted, throwing his arms in the air. "What chance do I have with the pair of you working on me? Okay, I'll do it! Just don't blame me if it turns out to be a disaster."

And with that, Harry leapt to his feet and started to walk in the direct of the boy's dormitory.

"Where are you going?" Ginny asked in alarm.

"Firstly, to use the toilet and then to try and drown myself in the sink. It looks like that's the only way I'm going to get out of this," he moaned and headed up the stairs.

The girls watched him in amusement for a moment before Ginny turned towards Hermione.

"Have I told you how much I love you lately?" she asked.

"Why, yes, you have, but it's always nice to hear," the older girl replied grinning.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"Come on, get yourselves sorted out," Angelina Johnson shouted. "Seekers to the left, Beaters in the centre and Keepers to the right. Chasers come and stand over by me."

Ginny shuffled over towards the dark-skinned girl. She glanced over at Harry who was already stood where the new Gryffindor Team Captain had indicated. It didn't look like anyone else was going to try and wrestle the position of starting Seeker away from him.

"Okay, Harry, looks like the Seeker's spot is yours by default," Angelina called. "You can come and give me a hand sorting this lot out."

A quick look around indicated that nearly fifteen people were trying out for the role of Chaser, despite the unlikeliness that any of them would usurp the role from the current trio of girls. Angelina, Alicia and Katie were unbeatable on their day, and Ginny was merely hoping to clinch one of the reserve spots.

She and Harry had talked very seriously about avoiding Quidditch this year. With the extra training they were doing, Harry's OWLs, and now running a duelling club, things were getting a bit hectic. However, their shared love of the sport won out and, besides, as Ginny had pointed out, Harry would have been lynched by Angelina if he'd tried to drop out this year.

"Merlin, I didn't think there would be this many people here," her friend Demelza muttered into her ear as they stood there.

"Yeah, I didn't know half this lot even knew which end of a broom to sit on, let alone try out for the team," Ginny grumbled back.

"Still, you have an advantage if Harry's helping pick the new players," Demelza smirked. "What will you promise to do for him if he gets you on the team?"

"Nothing I wouldn't do for him at any other time," Ginny replied teasingly. The subject of her boyfriend had been a regular topic of conversation in their dorm since the start of term, with both Demelza and Vicky demanding to know full details of how far the relationship had actually gone. While Ginny certainly hadn't told her friends everything, she'd dropped enough hints that the girls were fully aware that things had got up-close and personal pretty quickly.

"Would he get me on the team if I offered to do those things, too?" Demelza asked cheekily.

"I doubt it, besides, it's pretty hard to fly with both your arms broken," Ginny hissed.

"Oooh! Bit protective there, Miss Weasley," Demelza joked. "Seriously though, watch some of these other sluts. Take that cow Romilda Vane, for instance. I know for a fact she can't stand Quidditch, yet here she is, clutching a broom like she doesn't know which end points forward, trying to get on the team. Vicky said she heard her going on about how 'dreamy' Harry is the other day. Keep your eye on that miserable little tart, Ginny; she's after your bloke."

"Thanks for the warning, Dem," Ginny said appreciatively. "I wouldn't put anything past that slut. I might have a few words with her, later."

"I'll alert Madam Pomfrey, then," Demelza joked, earning a snort of laughter from Ginny.

"Alright, everyone! Mount your brooms and let's start flying a few simple laps around the pitch," Angelina called, halting further conversation.

Ginny mounted her ancient Cleansweep and kicked off the ground. For the next half an hour Angelina had the group trying out a series of increasingly complicated manoeuvres. It had become painfully obvious very early on that most of the group were completely hopeless and Angelina rapidly whittled the numbers down, including a very disgruntled Romilda Vane, Ginny was pleased to note. In the end, no one proved as good as the three existing Chasers, although Ginny was delighted that both Demelza and herself earned one of the coveted reserve slots, along with Harry's classmate Dean Thomas.

She had just put her feet back on the ground when Ginny felt a set of strong arms wrap around her waist from behind and a pair of warm lips planted a kiss on her neck. She breathed in his familiar scent and pulled his arms tighter around herself.

"Congratulations, Ginny," Harry said. "You flew brilliantly up there."

"Thanks, Harry," Ginny replied happily. Maybe she'd spent too many years with overprotective brothers who refused to let her play, but Harry's encouragement and genuine pride at her performance made her heart swell.

"I got a reserve slot as well, Harry," Demelza pointed out. "Do I get a cuddle and a kiss, too?"

"Yes, Demelza," Harry smiled, "and I'm sure there are plenty of boys back at Gryffindor Tower more than willing to supply them for you."

Demelza laughed. "You've got him so well trained, Ginny."

"That I have and, trust me, he'll be well rewarded for his good behaviour later," Ginny smirked.

"Oh, that sounds promising!" Harry exclaimed and he began to leave a trail of light kisses down Ginny's neck.

"Mmm, that feels nice. Are we done here? I think I need to get Romeo here back to the Tower," Ginny declared.

"Nah, we haven't picked a Keeper yet and I have to stay until the whole team is decided," Harry replied, a note of irritation in his voice.

"Who's in contention?" Ginny asked.

"Your brother and Cormac McLaggen," Harry practically spat.

"Ick!" Demelza said in disgust. "I don't know which is the worst out of those two. Actually, I take that back: McLaggen grabbed my arse last term after an after match party. I slapped him but the git just grinned at me. He's definitely the worst."

"I guess you're right," Ginny mused. "McLaggen could start a fight in an empty room and at least I know I won't have to worry about Ron trying to touch me up. But I tell you, if McLaggen tries anything like that with me he won't have any fingers left to grab anything!"

"That's assuming I leave anything of him for Ginny to deal with," Harry growled. "Seriously, Demelza, if he does anything like that again let me know and I'll have a few words."

"Thanks, Harry," Demelza said appreciatively.

"Come on, let's see which of the losers we get saddled with as the new Keeper," Ginny sighed.

The three of them walked over towards the goals where the prospective keepers were taking turns in trying to save shots from Alicia and Katie. While neither were having a great deal of success against the two experienced Chasers, they did appear about evenly matched.

It was currently McLaggen's turn to defend the goal against Katie and he was hovering expectantly in front of the middle hoop. Katie was flying in a wild, zig-zaging pattern to try and confuse the tall sixth-year as to which hoop she was going to aim for. At the last second, she pulled into a sharp turn to the left and threw the Quaffle as hard as she could towards the nearest hoop. McLaggen appeared to be totally wrong-footed and darted in the opposite direction. As the ball sailed through the left hoop he stopped and looked about in confusion.

"Wow, Katie really faked him out there," Demelza said appreciatively

"Yeah, either that or he got hit by a Confundus Charm," Harry joked.

"Actually, that might not be so far from the truth," Ginny noted. "Look, he doesn't seem to know which direction the ground is in!"

They all stared at McLaggen and it appeared Ginny might be right. The boy was flying in circles with a dazed expression on his face. After a few moments, he shook his head and seemed to recover, although he still appeared somewhat bemused.

Ron flew up and took his position in front of the middle hoop with a confident expression. Alicia was his opponent this time and she made a similar approach to the one Katie had taken. The only difference this time was that Ron successfully guessed the direction the Chaser would take and managed to get his fingers to the Quaffle as it was thrown, tipping it just wide of the hoop.

"That's it," Angelina cried. "Ron Weasley is the new Keeper; Cormac McLaggen will be the reserve."

This naturally caused McLaggen to start ranting in protest and berating Angelina for her choice. It was only after the tall, dark-skinned girl threatened to take away the reserve slot from him did he finally quieten down. McLaggen stomped away with a face like thunder.

"Well, I'm glad that's sorted," Harry declared. "Let's head back to the Tower."

"I'll meet you up there, love," Ginny told him. "I just want a quick word with Angelina."

"Okay, I guess I'll just have you for company, Demelza," Harry smiled.

"Oh, lucky me," The black-haired girl laughed. "Don't worry, Ginny, I'll keep him warmed up for you."

"Thanks, Dem, you're a mate," Ginny said sarcastically.

Demelza just gave a radiant smile and grabbed Harry's arm, leading him back towards the school. Ginny just grinned; Demelza might be a terrible flirt, but she was also a true friend. Ginny knew that her roommate would never make a move on her fella. Sadly, that could not be said for everyone.

Ginny walked back towards the stands were the remaining spectators were just starting to drift away. Contrary to what she'd told Harry, it was not Angelina that she wanted a word with. Spotting the very person she wanted to talk to, Ginny hurried over to the departing stragglers.

"Hey, Romilda," she said brightly. "Can I have a word?"

"What about?" the dark-haired girl asked, looking around nervously.

"Sorry you didn't make the team," Ginny continued in a friendly voice. "I thought you flew pretty well up there."

"Really?" Romilda exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yeah, I think you have talent," Ginny assured her. "It's just a shame you had to use that crappy school broom. That would have handicapped you immediately."

"Well, I guess," Vane replied suspiciously.

"Would you like to have a go on my Cleansweep?" Ginny asked. "It's nothing special, but it's still better than that clapped-out pile of rubbish you were riding."

"No thanks. Some other time, maybe," Vane replied sounding distinctly nervous now.

Ginny looked around. "Why not now? After all, everybody seems to have gone now, so no-one will see you if you can't handle it."

"I can handle it just fine," Vane spat. "I just don't want to. Now, get out of my way."

"I don't think so," Ginny replied, deliberately stepping in front of the girl.

Vane scowled and tried to push Ginny out of the way. Ginny was far too quick for the girl, however, and grabbed her wrist. Using all her weight, Ginny pulled hard on Vane's arm, dragging her forward, while at the same time sticking her foot out. Caught off balance, Vane tripped over Ginny's outstretched ankle and tumbled to the floor. As the girl sprawled on the ground, Ginny took the opportunity to kick her rival hard in the stomach.

Vane screaked in pain and rolled into a tight ball, probably fearing further blows. When they didn't come, she looked up with a tear-streaked face only to see a wand pointed directly at her.

"I hear you're thinking of making a move on Harry," Ginny said calmly, the tip of her wand only inches from the sobbing girl's nose.

"No, I wasn't! Who told you that? They're lying!" Vane stuttered in fear.

"Bollocks, are they," Ginny said in a cold voice. "I've know how you operate, Vane. I've heard the stories going round the dorm about your little stash of Love Potions and I wouldn't put it past you to try using them on my boyfriend."

"I wouldn't! Honest!" Vane insisted.

"You really are a lying little cow, aren't you?" she snarled. "Well, let me tell you, if I get the slightest hint that you're trying something, or if I even catch you looking in Harry's direction, I'm going to make you wish you'd never been born. Got that?"

Vane glared angrily at Ginny. "Why don't you let him decide who he likes best," she said defiantly.

"Because I already know," Ginny replied confidently. "But I also know that Harry hasn't the time or energy to deal with gold-digging little tarts like you. Tell me, Vane, would you be prepared to stand shoulder to shoulder with Harry as he's fighting Death Eaters?"

"What? Death Eaters? Are you joking?" Vane gasped in horror.

"I thought not," Ginny smirked. "How about if Harry has to face Voldemort again? Would you stand by him then?"

Vane just looked on in terror at the mere mention of the Dark Lords name.

"You see, Romilda dear, the world is not a safe place," Ginny explained in a calm voice. "When you look at Harry you see a rich, handsome hero who you dream of sweeping you off your feet and pandering to your ever whim. Me? I see a young man who I love dearly, who has a long and dangerous path ahead of him. I intend to help him on that path, even if it means I have to throw myself in front of a Killing Curse for him. And you know what? He'd do the same for me. So tell me, Romilda darling, would you take a curse for Harry?"

The look of fear on Vane's face told Ginny everything she wanted to know.

"Now you know the price of being Harry's girlfriend, Vane," Ginny said harshly. "Still interested in the position?"

Romilda shook her head, her face downturned.

"I thought not. I will not have Harry distracted from his task by the likes of you. This is your one and only warning: forget all about Harry or I'll make your life a living hell," Ginny spat. "Now get out of my sight!"

Vane scrambled to her feet and fled as fast as her legs would carry her. Ginny sighed as she watched the girl run. She alone knew the price of being Harry's love and she wouldn't hesitate to pay it if required.

Picking up her discarded broom, she headed back towards the school.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"Oh bugger, half the school must be here!" Harry gasped in horror as he looked out at the assembled mass of pupils who had gathered in the Great Hall.

"I would estimate three quarters," Hermione suggested, rather unhelpfully, as Harry was already working himself into a state of panic.

"Don't worry, love, you'll be fine," Ginny said soothingly as the three of them stood next to the raised platform that the teachers table normally sat upon. Today it had been removed in preparation for the first meeting of the new duelling club.

"It's easy for you to say that," Harry hissed. "You won't be the one standing up there making a bloody fool of himself! Why did you have to plaster my name all over the posters advertising this?"

"Well, as we were trying to use your fame and popularity to attract as many people as possible, it would be rather counter-productive not to have put your name on it, don't you think?" Hermione said archly.

"Oh, Merlin! Why did I ever agree to this?" Harry moaned.

"Are you ready to make a start, Harry?" Professor Flitwick, who had agreed to sponsor the club, called out from nearby.

Harry nodded nervously and turned an interesting shade of green. Ginny just gave him a quick kiss and shoved him up onto the platform. Seeing Harry standing there, the assembled crowd began to quieten down.

"Err… hello, everyone, and welcome to the first meeting of the Hogwarts Duelling Association, or H.D.A. as we're calling it for short," Harry began nervously.

"What?" someone yelled.

"Speak up!" came another cry.

"I said, welcome to the first meeting of the Hogwarts Duelling Association," Harry repeated at a louder volume. "Thank you for coming. The idea behind the club is to promote duelling skills and to give you all somewhere to practice. The club is officially sanctioned by the Ministry and Professor Flitwick has kindly agreed to sponsor us. We hope that…"

"What are you going to teach us?" someone yelled out.

"Are you going to show us how you defeated that Death Eater?" someone else called out.

"Yeah, and that Human to Animal transfiguration you did during the Triwizard Tournament! Teach us that!" cried another.

"Err…" Harry mumbled, looking overwhelmed.

"Who decided you should be running this club, that's what I want to know?" called out an instantly recognisable voice.

Ginny looked around and saw Draco Malfoy strutting to the foot of the platform, an arrogant sneer on his face. Her fingers itched to grab her wand, but she resisted.

"Harry has put a lot of time and effort into this club and has planned everything out," Hermione yelled abruptly from Ginny's side. "Why shouldn't he be the one to run it?"

"Because the person running it should at least be a competent duellist," Draco declared smugly. "If anyone should be running this thing, it should be me as everyone knows that I'm by far and away the best duellist at Hogwarts."

"Prove it," Harry said flatly.

"What? Why would I need to prove it?" Draco sneered. "It's common knowledge."

"In that case, you won't mind duelling with me then, will you?" Harry said in a cold, angry voice.

Draco laughed. "Why should I? What's in it for me?" he demanded.

"If you beat me, I'll turn over leadership of the club to you," Harry declared.

This caused a lot noise in the hall as everyone began to eagerly talk to their neighbour. The idea of Potter and Malfoy fighting each other seemed to cause a lot of excitement.

Draco looked about the hall in satisfaction. "Alright, Potter, you've got yourself a deal," Malfoy agreed loudly. "I'm going to enjoy this."

Malfoy shed his heavy robes and mounted the platform. Harry backed away until he was at the furthest end away from Draco, allowing them room to duel. Professor Flitwick hurried forward to act as the referee.

"We've got to stop this," Hermione said to Ginny in horror. "Harry could get seriously hurt."

"Relax, Hermione. Harry can take care of himself," Ginny assured him.

Hermione looked like she was going to argue, but Flitwick's voice silenced her.

"We'll be using standard tournament rules, gentlemen," Flitwick announced. "No Unforgivable Spells, no spells with an area effect and nothing that would be considered lethal. The winner will be decided by a contestant disarming his opponent or incapacitated them. We will start on the count of three and anyone who casts before the end of my count will be instantly disqualified. Are you both ready?"

"Yes, Professor," Harry said, grimly gripping his wand and staring at Draco with hatred in his eyes.

"Yes," Draco confirmed curtly.

"One, two, three… begin!" Flitwick yelled.

Draco was the quickest off the mark and his Stunning Spell left the tip of his wand as the last syllables of the count left Flitwick's mouth. Harry simply side-stepped and let the spell shoot passed him.

"_Expelliarmus! Petrificus Totalus! Depulso!_"

Harry cast three spells with such speed that Draco didn't have time to react. Malfoy's wand was wrenched from his grip a fraction before his body became totally ridged He was then flung backwards across the platform.

"Stop!" Professor Flitwick yelled, leaping back onto the platform. "Potter wins! In under five seconds, too. Marvellous effort."

Most of the occupants of the hall jumped to their feet and began to clap and cheer. Only the Slytherins who were present remained seated and they just glared in Harry's direction sullenly.

Harry strode to the centre of the platform and held his hand up for silence. "Can anyone tell me why I managed to hex Malfoy so easily?" he demanded once the room was quiet.

"Cos he's a git and you're brilliant!" yelled a second-year Hufflepuff girl. Laughter rang around the hall.

"Not quite," Harry said, grinning at the small girl. "It's because he was overconfident. He was so certain that he was the superior duellist that he assumed his first spell would take me out. You should never underestimate your opponent; remember, it only takes a single Stunning Charm to put you on your back."

"Wise words, Mr Potter," Flitwick agreed. "But perhaps before you continue you should release Mr Malfoy from the Full Body-Bind?"

"What? Oh, I quite forgot about him," Harry smiled and waved his wand in Draco's direction.

Once released, Malfoy staggered to his feet and shot Harry a look of pure hatred. For a second, Ginny thought the blond Slytherin was going to charge at her boyfriend, but instead he just held his hand out.

"My wand, Potter," Draco snarled, his face red and his body shaking with anger.

"Here you go," Harry smirked and tossed Draco's wand to him. The Slytherin managed to catch it and instantly pointed it in Harry's direction.

"Now, now, Mr Malfoy; the duel's over and you lost fair and square," Flitwick declared. "I should mention that when I was on the duelling circuit any time a participant was defeated in less than ten seconds it was considered something of a humiliation. Please do not add to that by being a bad loser."

Glaring at the diminutive teacher, Malfoy thrust his wand inside his robes and stepped off the platform. With a face like thunder, he stormed down the aisle and straight out of the hall. A few seconds later, Crabbe and Goyle leapt from their seats and hurried after him.

Harry watched Draco go without comment. He then turned back to the assembled gathering.

"Can anyone hazard a guess as to why it was so important that I cast my three spells in such quick succession?" he asked the crowd.

There was some muttering, but nobody seemed prepared to try and answer him.

"No one?" Harry asked. "Hermione, would you like to tell everybody why I did that?"

"It was in case Malfoy managed to get a Shield Spell in place," Hermione explained, clearly pleased to have been called upon. "A series of rapidly cast spells is more likely to break through a shield than a similar number cast with a gap between them."

"Exactly," Harry agreed. "I didn't underestimate my opponent and worked on the assumption that he would have been able to get a Shield in place in time to counter my attack. The fact that he didn't was irrelevant; if he had the chances were that a barrage of spells would have broken down his defences, anyway. Always assume the worst, that way you won't be caught by surprise."

Ginny glanced around the hall. Everyone, even the older pupils, was listening to Harry in rapt attention. As he continued to explain his tactics, she couldn't help smiling. His previous nervousness had vanished and he sounded like he had been teaching all his life.

Over the next half-an-hour, Harry went on to describe what he intended the Hogwarts Duelling Club to achieve and how it would be run. On the spot, he decided that if the numbers present that evening were an indication of the likely attendance that they would need to split the club into two, with seniors attending one evening and the more junior members another. Finally, he asked everyone who wanted to attend to sign a membership register that Hermione had created. As soon as he had finished speaking there was a massive rush to sign up and Hermione was kept busy trying to organise the prospect members.

Ginny wandered over to Harry who was watching the long line of pupils waiting to sign up with amusement. She wormed her way into his arms and grinned at him.

"That went well, didn't it?" she said happily.

"Yeah, it went much better than I was expecting, actually," he replied. "I guess I have Malfoy to thank for that."

Ginny giggled. "Yeah, once he managed to piss you off your nerves vanished. Perhaps we should arrange for him to come and insult you anytime you have something difficult to do."

"I think I can live without seeing his sneering mug, thank you," Harry snorted. "I just can't believe so many people want to take part."

"Come off it, a duelling club run by Harry Potter? Most people would give their back teeth to take part," she pointed out, "especially as in this brief session tonight you've already taught most of them more than they learnt during an entire year under Lockhart."

"I have to confess, once I got going I really started to enjoy it," Harry admitted. "Perhaps I should think about becoming a teacher?"

"Nah, the pay's crap," Ginny smirked. "Besides, it's not very exciting, is it?"

"I guess not," he admitted, "although by the time this is all over we might be yearning for a nice quite life."

"Maybe," Ginny admitted. "I think in those circumstances I'd just settle for us being filthy rich and spending all our time lazing around on some exotic beach somewhere."

Harry laughed. "Yeah, that does sound quite nice, doesn't it? I'm not sure what I could do to earn enough to live that sort lifestyle permanently, though."

"Stick with me, Potter, and I'll see you right," she grinned.

"Always, Ginny, always," he said and held her tighter.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The gloomy dungeon certainly didn't look any more inviting then it ever previously had, Ginny mused as she took her seat for her first Potion lesson of the new term. Harry and Hermione had already had a class with Snape and they reported that his behaviour had not changed much from last year, which had surprised Ginny. With Dumbledore's change of heart last year and with Umbridge on the prowl, she would have thought the man would have made some effort to amend his abrasive style, but obviously not. Maybe Snape was just incapable of changing?

A few seconds later, the man himself swept into the classroom in his usual melodramatic fashion. The whole class tensed in anticipation of his first caustic comment.

"Today we will be working on the Wit-Sharpening Potion," Snape snarled with no preamble. "As you can see, the ingredients are listed on the blackboard. The main ingredient is ground scarab beetle which tends to be quite volatile when exposed to heat, we therefore need to stabilise it with armadillo bile…"

Ginny blinked. Snape was actually teaching them something about the potion they were making, rather than leaving the instructions on the blackboard and basically telling them get on with it. While his demeanour had changed little, his teaching methods apparently had. Scrambling for a quill, Ginny began to rapidly make notes.

The lesson continued in this manner and Ginny began to hope that this marked a real change in the normally despised potions teacher. Unfortunately, her hopes were soon dashed. She had just finished making her Wit-Sharpening Potion and was quite pleased with the results, when Snape descended on her.

"What's this meant to be then, Weasley?" Snape demanded, snatching the vial of potion from her fingers and peering at it.

"That's my potion, Professor," she replied calmly. "It is the right colour and smells of almonds just as you stated it should."

Snape sneered at her.

"I clearly stated that this potion should turn a light pink colour. This is obviously a dark pink and therefore quite useless," Snape derided her.

Ginny peered at her vial. The potion looked light pink to her.

"But, sir, just look at…" she began.

"Silence, you obnoxious brat," Snape snarled. "You're obviously too stupid to be able to tell the difference, but what should be expect from some simpering little hussy who fawns over that arrogant show-off, Potter!"

The Slytherins in the room began to snigger. Most of her fellow Gryffindors, however, looked outraged. Colin, who was sharing a desk with Ginny, particularly looked furious.

"Your potion is worthless," Snape declared loudly before taking his wand and banishing both her vial and the contents of her cauldron. "You will not receive a mark for today's work."

Ginny fumed as she watched Snape return to his desk. Clearly, the man had not changed and still harboured a deep hatred for Harry. Squaring her shoulders, Ginny decided it was time to confront Snape once and for all.

As the class ended, Ginny remained steadfastly in her seat, despite Colin's attempts to make her leave. She sat impassively as everyone else filed out the door and waited for the Potions Master to notice her continued presence.

"What are you still doing here, Weasley?" Snape demanded when he did eventually notice her.

"I wanted to talk to you, sir," Ginny said calmly. "You see, I'm rather confused by your behaviour."

"My behaviour?" Snape repeated angrily. "You have ten seconds to get out of my classroom or you will deeply regret it, Weasley!"

"I don't think so, sir," she replied in a dispassionate voice. "After all, what would Professor Umbridge think about you threatening a student who merely asked for a private word with their tutor?"

"What the hell do you want?" Snape growled from behind clenched teeth.

"We both know that the Headmaster ordered you to treat students better. What was that little display today all about and why are you still openly attacking Harry?" she demanded.

"Why you…" Snape roared and for a second Ginny thought he was going to strike her, but he stayed his hand. She glared at him in contempt.

"What's the matter? Can't you follow simple instructions?" she taunted. "You heard the reasoning behind you abandoning this sort of behaviour, but you just can't let it go, can you? What exactly has Harry done to make you hate him so?"

"That is my business alone, Weasley, and how dare you be so bloody arrogant as to question me like this! Obviously Potter's big-headedness is rubbing off on you. Did the pampered prince put you up to this?" Snape snarled.

"Don't give me that," Ginny responded angrily. "I know you are an accomplished Legilimens and you must have looked into Harry's mind a dozen times! You know full well that he's never been pampered in his life."

Snape looked like he'd been slapped across the face. "How did you…" he began.

"Oh, come on! It's pretty bloody obvious," Ginny snorted. "You knew all the time that Harry grew up in an abusive and neglectful environment, but you still take every opportunity to call Harry spoilt or pampered. Why? Why do you do it?"

"Potter's upbringing was pampered when compared to mine!" Snape raged. "He had it easy compared with what I had to suffer."

"So you had a shittier childhood than Harry? So what? Is this a competition or something? Harry still had it worse than ninety-nine per cent of kids in this school, how does that constitute as being pampered?" she demanded.

"So his fat oaf of an uncle pushed him around and his aunt starved him, so what? I would have called that luxury when I was a boy. At least he had parents that loved him, if only for a little while. My parents hated me from birth! Potter at least had Lily's love…" Snape suddenly shut-up, perhaps realising that he had said too much.

"Ah, we're getting down to cases now, aren't we? Is that why you hate Harry: because his own mother loved him?" she asked, eyeing the Professor shrewdly.

"He didn't deserve to be loved by her," Snape said bitterly. "Him and that arrogant idiot he called a father. Neither of them deserved to be loved by such a wonderful woman."

Ginny noted the reverence Snape seemed to hold for Harry's mother and suddenly much of the man's hatred became clear.

"Is that why you hate Harry? Because he's the son of the man who took Lily Evans away from you?" she asked, not unkindly.

"The man was a braggart and a fool!" Snape spat, leaving Ginny in no doubt that he was referring to Harry's father. "Just because he was a big Quidditch star he expected girls to flock to him! He was more interested in bullying and playing stupid practical jokes than studying. And he… he… corrupted her! Lily was too clever to care about any of the rubbish Potter was interested in, but she ended up lowering herself to his level."

"Or maybe she was just in love," Ginny said gently. "Besides, James Potter was hardly an idiot, was he? Harry's told me that he did really well at school and was Head Boy in his last year."

"A privilege he hardly deserved!" Snape yelled. "He'd broken every school rule yet they still gave him the position. Why they made an egotistical, prank-playing bully the Head Boy I'll never know."

"Professor Lupin describes him a bit differently," Ginny pointed out. "He's says it took James Potter a while to grow-up, but when he did he was a kind and generous person. From the little I know of Lily, I doubt she would have fallen for someone as unpleasant as you describe."

"She would have left him eventually," Snape insisted. "She would have seen through him in time."

"You know, Professor, this summer Harry showed me a photo album he has which is full of pictures of his parents. There was one picture that really stuck in my memory. It was taken shortly after Harry was born and it shows him being cradled by his mother while his father has his arms around the both of them. In the picture, Lily is admiring her son before she looks up at her husband. You know, when I saw that photo I thought to myself that I'd never seen two people so completely and utterly happy in my life. I mean, they practically glowed with happiness."

Snape said nothing.

"And it wasn't just that picture, either. In every one I looked at, the Potters were just this beautiful little family, just so happy to be together. You know it was his mother's love and sacrifice that saved Harry's life when You-Know-Who attacked, don't you?" Ginny asked.

Snape turned his back on her and Ginny was fairly certain that she heard a stifled sob.

"From everything I've heard and seen, I'm convinced that Lily Potter loved her husband and son with all her heart," Ginny said softly. "I don't know if she ever had feelings for you, sir, but if she did at any point, she got over you. She loved Harry and James and there was no way she would have ever left them."

There was a rasping intake of breath from Snape like he'd been stabbed.

"Why do you do it, sir?" Ginny asked. "Lily had moved on with her life and clearly had no interest in you. Yet here you are, years after she died, clinging to her memory like it's the only thing in your life. You need to move on, too."

"I can't," he said in little more than a whisper.

"You have to," Ginny insisted. "If you don't, the pain and suffering will just keep eating you up until there's nothing left."

"It's MY pain," Snape bellowed, turning on her. "It's MY suffering! It's all I have left."

"Then you're doomed," Ginny told him in a hard voice.

Realising she could do no more, she stood and walked out of the classroom, leaving a sobbing Potions Master behind her.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"That's it, I'm beat," Hermione moaned, collapsing on the floor.

Luna, who was already sprawled out, could only nod, her eyes glassy and her cheeks red.

"Already?" Ginny exclaimed in surprise. "Harry and I have barely got warmed up."

She was currently on her knees in front of her boyfriend holding his ankles as he vigorously completed a set of sit-ups. Ginny could hear him quietly counting as he completed each one and he was currently on sixty-three.

"You two have been exercising for months. We've only been doing this for a few weeks, so give us a break!" Hermione groaned.

"You can't just exercise your mind and not your body," Ginny lectured the older girl. "Physical fitness is a vital part of duelling, not to mention that your magical core will be able to expand easier if your body is fit and able to accommodate it."

"But Professor Dumbledore is the most powerful wizard around and I doubt he could do even one sit up," Luna objected.

"I think you'd be surprised," Ginny disagreed. "For such an old bloke he seems in pretty good nick to me. Think about it, all the most powerful witches and wizards seem in pretty good condition: Dumbledore, McGonagall, Mad-Eye, even You-Know-Who was pretty athletic looking. Besides, appearances can be deceptive. My mum is on the dumpy side, but I bet she's got more strength and stamina than most witches half her age."

"One hundred," Harry announced and lay flat on his back for a moment. Ginny released his ankles allowing him to stand up. She noted with pride that he didn't appear too winded despite his exertions. He was looking pretty damn good for his efforts, too.

"I've never seen your mother exercise," Hermione retorted, snapping Ginny out of her daydream about a naked Harry.

"Never exercises? " Ginny repeated in disbelief. "Do you know how much work it takes to look after a family my size, even with magic? Most witches would collapse in an exhausted heap trying to keep up with Mum, and she's been looking after us for years! That's part of the reason she gets us all to help with chores once were old enough; so we develop a good work ethic. What, don't you do any household chores at your home?"

"My parents prefer me to spend my time on academicals pursuits," Hermione sniffed.

"So, they do all the work around the house, do they?" Harry asked somewhat miffed. He seemed angry by Hermione's response for some reason.

"Well, actually we have a cleaner who comes in twice a week and…" Hermione began.

"WHAT?" Harry exploded. "You bloody hypocrite! After all that crap about house-elves being slaves, you're happy to sit back and let some poor sod clean your house for you."

"Milena receives a good wage for her work!" Hermione said defensively.

"A good wage, or do you mean a good wage for a cleaner?" Harry demanded. "They're not the same things, you know."

"A good wage for someone of her skills," Hermione replied angrily. "The poor woman can barely speak English, for heaven's sake, she can't do anything more challenging."

"So are you helping her learn better English?" Harry demanded. "Are you encouraging her to better herself? I bet you're bloody not!"

"I… it's… it's not the bloody same thing!" Hermione spluttered. "House-elves are slaves and don't have the option to try and improve themselves or get a better job; Milena does!"

"Have you asked the elves what they want?" Luna asked calmly.

"What's the point?" Hermione demanded. "They've been brainwashed into servitude. They wouldn't say if they did."

Luna looked at her with a faintly disgusted expression. "Really, Hermione, I never thought you were a racist."

"RACIST?" Hermione bellowed in outrage. "ME?"

"Yes, you," Luna replied firmly. "You obviously think so little of elves that you think that they're all mindless, stupid creatures who just blindly follow orders. Have you ever sat and had a conversation with one?"

"Well, I…" Hermione stuttered.

"I thought not," Luna cut her off. "Ever since Harry and Ginny took me to the kitchens last year I've been a regular visitor and I've made some wonderful friends amongst the elves. Unlike you, I actually talk to them and try and find out what they want. You do know that only a small proportion of elves actually work for humans, don't you?"

"What?" Hermione gasped. "What do they do and why have I never heard about this?"

"Because you never bothered to ask," Luna said, sounding as angry as Ginny had ever heard her. "Elfish society is complex and just like humans, there is a class structure. The elves that work for humans tend to be at the bottom of that structure, just like your poor cleaning woman is at the bottom of ours."

"But… what do these other elves do and where do they live?" Hermione demanded.

Luna looked at Hermione appraisingly. "No, I don't think I'm going to tell you," she replied after a pause. "You're just going to misinterpret anything I say, anyway. If you want to know about the elves, Hermione, I suggest that you go and ask them. They might even tell you, although they tend to be quite secretive as they don't want bossy humans coming and trying to run their lives for them."

And with that, Luna sprung to her feet and purposefully walked out of the Room of Requirement. Hermione stood looking guilty for a moment before sprinting after the blond girl.

"Okay, that was unexpected," Ginny muttered.

"Yeah, but hopefully it will have knocked some sense into Hermione," Harry replied fiercely. "Honestly, making all that fuss about the elves when her family employed some poor foreign cleaner who was probably only paid a pittance."

"She obviously has no idea what it's like to get her hands dirty," Ginny sniffed. "Well, that's mucked up our schedule a bit. I guess that means we can carry on with some training of our own rather than working with those two."

"Err, well, we could make the most of this opportunity, you know," Harry said, sounding almost embarrassed.

"Why, Mr Potter, what are you suggesting?" Ginny smirked.

Harry stepped forward and slipped his arms around her. "You know, Ginny, we've barely had any time to ourselves since the start of term. What with lessons, the H.D.A, our training and Quidditch, we've barely had a moment alone. I don't know about you, but I miss that," Harry said, looking into her eyes sadly.

"Yeah, I do, too," Ginny replied, suddenly realising that they had been neglecting their relationship for the last few weeks. "Well, we seem to have this room all to ourselves for the rest of the evening, what do you suggest?"

Harry just smiled and suddenly the Room of Requirement began to morph and change about them. Ginny looked around her and giggled. Where moments before the room had been a dedicated exercise and training area, it now took the form of an elegant bedroom complete with a large, comfortable-looking, four-poster bed.

"Good plan," Ginny she told her boyfriend before she crushed her lips to his.


	10. Chapter 10 – Matters of the Heart

**Chapter 10 – Matters of the Heart**

AN

I'm back and even the rugby hasn't slowed me down. England's 20-0 drubbing of Scotland has definitely cheered me up, however, even if it was a pretty poor game. I honestly thought both teams were going to sink into the mud at one point.

After a few controversial moments in the last chapter (most around Ginny's talk with Snape and her giving Romilda Vane a good kicking) this chapter is a lot lighter. I hadn't realised it at the time I wrote it, but quite a few couples get paired-up here. I've previously had some criticism about the speed at which Harry and Ginny's relationship has progressed and while I've explained Ginny's motivation in all this, I haven't really touched on what Harry was thinking. This is partly rectified here. Oh, and the 'he was never right for you' line was written long before JKR's recent (and widely misquoted) comments about Ron and Hermione's relationship. Those two won't be paired together in this story, but I decided that ages ago. Bet you can't guess who Hermione hooks up with.

Huge thanks to Arnel, as always. I think my comma key must be on the blink or something…

* * *

Ginny moaned softly as she felt the covers being pulled off her shoulders. Grumbling, she gripped the edge of the duvet and pulled it up to her chin again. Sighing contently, she let herself drift back towards sleep.

"SHIT!" she swore, sitting bolt up-right.

"Ugh… what?" Harry mumbled from somewhere underneath the covers. Ginny pulled the duvet down and began to shake him.

"Wake-up, Harry," she said urgently. "We're still in the Room of Requirement! Someone's bound to have noticed were missing by now!"

"What are… oh, bugger! We fell asleep after we… oh, bugger! Oh, buggering-shit!" Harry exclaimed in a panic.

"What?" Ginny asked, alarmed at her boyfriend's sudden fear.

"Ginny, we…don't you remember what we did last night?" he asked, his eyes wide in terror.

"Why, we… oh. Oh, yes, I remember now," she replied as the events of the previous evening came back to her.

"We said we weren't going to go that far, didn't we?" Harry said apprehensively. "God, I'm sorry, Ginny. I didn't mean to force you into anything. I… I just got a bit carried away."

"Don't be daft, Harry," Ginny scolded him. "You didn't do anything I didn't want you to do. Wasn't me screaming your name and begging you not to stop enough of a clue?"

A rather foolish grin appeared on his face. "Well, I was hoping… but we did say we were going to wait until you were at least sixteen, didn't we? Oh, sweet Merlin, what about birth control? What if you're pregnant? Oh, buggering hell!"

"Relax, lover-boy, I've been taking a birth-control potion since the start of summer. I didn't want any little accidents to happen, you know. Although I am a little cross that you're only thinking about such things now," Ginny frowned.

"Sorry," he apologised, "but I really wasn't expecting us to go this far so soon."

"It was going to happen sooner or later," she replied philosophically. "Let's face it, we've been doing everything apart from actual shagging. We were ready to take the next step."

"Yeah," Harry said, sounding rather distracted. "It's amazing, really. I mean, we… we… really did it!"

Ginny laughed. "What were you expecting?" she teased. "Do you really think we weren't going to get round to it at some point? Merlin, Harry, didn't you suspect that me sneaking into your bedroom during the holidays would lead to this?"

"I guess," he replied hesitantly. "I suppose I was just afraid that with everything that has happened to me in the past I would be killed before I got the chance to do it. I just didn't want to die a virgin."

The laughter died on Ginny's lips.

"You're not going to die anytime soon, Harry, not if I have anything to say about it," Ginny snapped. "We have a plan, a bloody good one, at that. You are going to live to a ripe old age and become a cranky old git who moans at everyone. Got it?"

"Yeah, I mean, I do feel more optimistic than I ever have before, but there's always this niggling doubt, you know?" he mumbled. "I just wanted to make sure I lived a little, just to be on the safe side."

"Harry, if you were worried about this, why didn't you say something? I would have understood," she said firmly.

"I didn't want you to think I was trying to pressure you into having sex with me," he replied nervously. "I wanted our first time together to be because we both wanted it to happen, not because you felt obliged to do it."

Ginny smiled and gently stroked his cheek. "Oh, Harry, you really are about the most considerate boyfriend anyone could ask for, you know," she said. "Most boys in your situation would have been trying anything to get their girlfriends to do it with them. For your information, I didn't feel pressured in the slightest, in fact, I was even getting a bit frustrated that we hadn't gone all the way. I could barely wait."

"Was it worth waiting for?" Harry blurted. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

"It was fantastic, especially for a first time," she said smiling. "I guess the fact that we worked up to it really paid off. It was a bit uncomfortable at first, but once we got going it was unbelievable."

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" he asked in concern.

"I think it's always meant to hurt a bit the first time," Ginny explained. "It's just natural. But don't worry, it only hurt a little when we started, and trust me, what followed more than made up for a little bit of discomfort."

"I'm glad," Harry replied, smiling in relief. "I really wanted our first time to be special."

"It was, Harry," she assured him. "In fact, I can't wait until we can do it again."

"Me neither, Ginny," he replied, looking at her longingly, "but I guess that's not going to happen this morning, is it?"

"Sadly, no," she confirmed regretfully. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Just a bit after six in the morning," Harry replied after glancing at his watch. "Do you think we were missed last night, and how are we going to get back into our dorms without being spotted?"

Ginny thought for a moment. "I don't think trying to sneak back in will work," she pondered. "I have an idea. As we only have our workout clothes with us, let's jog around outside for ten minutes or so, then head back and pretend we got up early to go running. None of the girls in my room ever wake up early enough to notice."

"Good idea," Harry agreed. "But what if someone noticed we didn't come back last night?"

"We'll just say we came in very late and everyone was in bed by the time we got to our dorms," she shrugged. "If anyone argues, we'll just have to brazen it out."

"Okay, that sounds like a plan," he agreed. "As much as I hate to suggest it, I guess we'd better put our clothes back on."

He was just about to swing his legs out of the bed when Ginny leapt over and pinned him down. She kissed him passionately for a moment before looking into his startled eyes.

"Last night made me realise something," she said in a determined tone. "You were right when you said we hadn't made much time for each other over the last few weeks, and that was a mistake. No matter what's going on, we need to make sure we make some time just for ourselves. It doesn't just have to be about sex, either. Even if we just find half-an-hour to curl up in the common room and chat, we should make sure we do it. The last thing I want to have happen is that we start to drift apart because we're so busy."

"I really don't think that would happen, but I totally agree with your idea, anyway," Harry said, holding her tight. "We talked so much over the holidays and I do sort of miss our little chats. Mind you, more sex would be brilliant, too."

Ginny laughed. "It would," she agreed, "and I don't think you have to worry about that not happening. I assure you if we had more time I'd pin you to the bed and have you again right now."

"That sounds a wonderful idea," he beamed, before his expression turned serious. He stared at her with longing in his eyes and he unconsciously licked his lips.

A ripple of excitement ran through her as she noted his moistened lips and lustful gaze. She hadn't been lying when she'd said she had being getting frustrated and, at this exact moment, she wanted nothing more than to re-enact the events of the previous night – repeatedly. Sadly, that would only create more problems than they could handle.

"Come on, love," she said in a resigned voice, "if we don't get moving now, we never will."

"I could have lived with that," he sighed, but reached for his discarded underwear.

As Ginny began to get dressed herself, she looked over at the young man she loved and couldn't help but feel a bubble of joy build in her. They had taken the next step in their relationship and they were closer than ever before. Things, she thought, couldn't be going better.

Now, how could she avoid having a smug expression on her face during breakfast?

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

An hour later, Ginny pelted down the stairs that led from her dorm, down into the common room. Despite a couple of hastily cast Drying Charms, her hair was still damp from the shower, but she knew she couldn't tarry. When she reached the bottom of the stairs she sighed with happiness at the sight of Harry waiting for her.

"Sorry I took so long," she apologised. "Was everything okay with your room-mates?"

"Yeah, although the idea that I was out running this morning caused some comment," Harry told her. "Dean actually asked if he could come with us next time as it would keep him in shape for football, but I kind of fobbed him off. The others just seemed appalled by the whole idea of exercise."

"My brother would be, definitely," Ginny smirked. "It would take an attacking dragon to get him out of bed early. Mind you, my room-mates weren't a lot better. Demelza and Vicky were both barely conscious when I went up."

"Just as well there are so many lazy people about," Harry smiled. "Come on, let's head to breakfast. I'm starving!"

"Why? Been doing something to work up an appetite?" she teased as they headed out of the common room.

They made their way down to the Great Hall and found Hermione already seated at the table. They sat down opposite her a little nervously.

"Morning, Hermione," Ginny greeted her friend with forced cheeriness. "How are you this fine day?"

"What happened to you two last night?" Hermione asked immediately. "I tried to get back into the Room of Requirement after I talked with Luna and I couldn't get in. What were you two up to in there?"

"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies," Ginny responded airily.

"What do you… oh," Hermione started to say before she broke off suddenly. She was looking directly at Harry who had turned a spectacular shade of red.

"Well, I guess that answers what the pair of you was up to," Hermione huffed. "I just hope that you're being careful."

"Don't worry," Ginny assured her quietly. "There won't be any little baby Potters running around for a good while yet."

"Good," Hermione replied primly before her expression softened. "So, what was it like then?"

"Bloody great," Ginny giggled.

"Will you two please not discuss this in front of the entire school!" Harry hissed in evident distress.

"You're probably right, this really isn't the time or place," Hermione agreed to Harry's great relief. She then looked up at Ginny in a conspiratory manner. "We'll discuss it later."

Harry's face fell.

"If I could have everyone's attention, please," the Headmaster's voice called out, causing them all to look towards the teacher's table. Ginny noticed for the first time there were some unfamiliar faces sat there.

"While it is not my normal practice to make announcements at breakfast, some last minute staffing changes have made it necessary," Dumbledore continued in a bland voice that Ginny was coming to believe meant the man was deeply unhappy. "Professor Binns has unexpectedly decided that his time in this realm of existence has come to an end, therefore I would like you to welcome his replacement, Professor Blackmore."

There was a few second of stunned silence before the hall erupted into thunderous applause. Professor Blackmore, a small, greying, man with a neat moustache and a learned expression, looked startled by the enthusiastic welcome, but waved hesitantly at the clapping children.

"Professor Blackmore was until recently one of the curators at the Ministry of Magic's main archive, and comes to us highly recommended," Dumbledore explained, looking rather wistful at the warm reception the man received. He then indicated to an attractive, middle-aged, dark-haired woman sitting to his left. "In addition to a change in the History of Magic post, an opening has also occurred in the Divination position as Professor Trelawney has decided to step aside to allow her more time to work on a private research project. I have granted her the use of Hogwarts facilities, so you will continue to see her around the castle. To replace her, may I present Madam Vladimirescu, a renowned expert on the subject and author of a number of best-selling books. She comes to us on loan from the Romanian Ministry of Magic."

The woman gave a graceful wave of her hand and received nearly as much applause as Professor Blackmore did. Most of the older boys seemed especially enthusiastic in their greeting.

"Quite," Dumbledore said after the noise had died down. "I'm sure our new staff members appreciate that marvellous welcome and are looking forward to commencing their respective classes. Thank you for your attention and please do continue with your breakfasts."

"So, Snape survived, then," Harry noted sourly after the Headmaster had resumed his seat.

"Yeah, but I bet he's having to walk on eggshells," Ginny smirked.

"Did you know this was going to happen?" Hermione demanded.

"Not exactly, although it was just a matter of time," Ginny explained. "Umbridge came in here with an agenda to weed out the worst teachers and it looks like she's got her way."

All three of them glanced up at the teachers' table where Umbridge sat with a smug expression on her face.

"This is all well and good, I suppose, and I'm certainly not going to miss either Trelawney or Binns, but where will it end?" Hermione asked. "I mean, Umbridge seems to have taken complete control of the school. What happens if she starts sacking staff just because she has taken a dislike to them?"

"We're working on that," Ginny assured her.

"Yeah, if things go to plan we should soon have the means to get Umbridge removed if she starts crossing the line," Harry chipped in.

"More secrets?" Hermione sighed. "I really hate being on the outside of everything."

"Sorry, until you and Luna learn Occlumency we can't risk sharing too much with you," Harry said sympathetically.

"And speaking of Luna, what happened between you two last night?" Ginny asked. "You said you talked with her, how did that go?"

Hermione looked uncomfortable.

"It went… quite well," she replied uncertainly. "I mean, it was a really awkward conversation, but Luna really did make me rethink a lot of my actions in recent years."

"What, about the elves?" Harry asked.

"About everything," Hermione explained. "Luna said some things to me that really hit home and made me step back and look at myself. I guess I always do tend to think I'm right about everything, and if things don't fall into my neat little vision of how the world should be I get upset."

"Everybody does that to some extent," Ginny observed.

"Yes, but I carry it to extremes," Hermione pointed out. "I need to learn that other people's opinions are as valid as my own, and that I'm not always right. The mess I made of things last term when Ron was being a prat to Harry should have been evidence enough."

"You were hung-up on my brother and not thinking clearly," Ginny said sympathetically.

"Obviously," Hermione sighed. "I just… I always thought it would be us three against the world, you know. No disrespect to you, Ginny, but I always just imagined that it would be me, Harry and Ron that had the big adventures and fought the bad guys. I never dreamed of a time when we wouldn't even be friends anymore."

"I don't suppose it's worth me pointing out he was never right for you, is it?" Ginny asked sadly.

"Maybe a little bit," Hermione replied. "I mean, I keep telling myself that. But I look at him now and I barely recognise the boy I used to know. How can someone change that much in just a year?"

"This is an important time in our lives. We all change as we grow, you know," Harry pointed out. "We're not children anymore and some people just grow-up in ways you don't expect."

"Not you, Harry," Hermione said wistfully. "You're turning into the man I always imagined you'd be. Actually, you haven't really changed that much since I first met you back when we started at Hogwarts. You're still that kind, brave boy I knew then. Of course, Ginny has knocked a bit more sense into you, thankfully, but the basics are still there."

"Thanks, I think," Harry replied.

Hermione laughed softly. "You're right, though," she said. "People do change in their teenage years as they become more experienced and develop their personalities. It's just a shame the results aren't always what you'd hoped for."

"You know what you need?" Ginny said suddenly.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"A boyfriend," Ginny decided. "It really would do you the world of good."

Hermione sighed. "Ginny, do you really think any half-decent boy would look twice at me?" she asked. "You could look up the phrase 'plain' in a dictionary and there'd be a picture of me."

"Rubbish," Harry snorted. "You scrubbed-up wonderfully at the Yule Ball last year. Boys were practically drooling at the sight of you."

"Yeah, and do you think International Quidditch star Viktor Krum would date any old plain-Jane?" Ginny added. "He couldn't take his eyes off you! So don't give me that load of old bollocks about you not being attractive.

"I'm not exactly seeing a line of handsome young men begging to date me, am I?" Hermione pointed out. "Believe me, I'm not adverse to the idea of having a boyfriend, but I just don't see many candidates."

"We'll just have to keep our eyes open then, won't we?" Ginny told her. "I'm sure we can find a few good ones about here somewhere."

"Good luck," Hermione snorted and turned back to her breakfast.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"Harry, you did it!" Ginny yelled as she ran along the edge of the pitch, elbowing people out of her way.

Hearing her voice, Harry turned and smiled, opening his arms to receive her. Needing no encouragement, Ginny leapt into his embrace and began to plant kisses over his face.

"Ginny!" Harry laughed. "We are in public and I don't want your brothers trying to kill me."

"Oh, forget them," she replied, practically bubbling with excitement. "That was the greatest Wronski Feint I've ever seen! You practically splattered Malfoy all over the pitch!"

"He never learns, does he?" Harry chortled. "You would think after all this time he would figure out that just trailing after me does no good."

Ginny laughed along with her boyfriend and let all the tensions of the last few days seep out of her. Things had definitely been getting hectic over the last month or two and the first Quidditch game of the season had come as a welcome relief. Of course, the fact that Gryffindor had beaten Slytherin by one hundred and ninety points to thirty and she had just watched Harry trick Draco Malfoy into smashing head-first into the ground helped immensely.

As she linked her arm with Harry's and they headed back towards the changing room, Ginny reflected on the last few months. After an initial burst of interest, the numbers attending their duelling club had settled down to a manageable eighty odd. Quite a few people had dropped out when they realised that the club wasn't just a lark and actually involved some hard work, but those that remained had proved a dedicated bunch. It was a surprisingly even spread of Houses that was represented, even if most the Slytherins that took part were from the lower years. Still, the H.D.A. members were a promising group who seemed to greatly appreciate Harry's tutoring.

Their own private training was going well, too. Initially, they found that they were taking up too much time in training Hermione and Luna, but they soon found a balance where they set the two girls up with a task for the evening and then left them to get on with it. This allowed Harry and Ginny to train by themselves in more advanced techniques while still being available if Hermione or Luna ran into problems.

Of course, normal lessons were enough of a handful by themselves, especially as it was Harry's OWL year. Still, they were both enough ahead of the game that school work was not presenting any major difficulties… yet.

With all these activities, not to mention Quidditch practice for both of them, it was a real struggle to find any personal time for themselves. Fortunately, they had so far managed to keep most of their Sunday mornings free and this became their sacred 'alone-time', and woe betide anyone who interfered with it. This was something George discovered to his cost after he tried followed them one day. Still, he wasn't held in the hospital wing for more than a few hours.

They had nearly reached the changing rooms when an amusing sight presented itself. Ginny struggled to control her giggles as Malfoy strode up with an angry expression on his face and wood splinters in his hair.

"You think you're so bloody clever, don't you, Potter?" the blond boy snarled.

"I suppose it depends on who I'm compared against," Harry smirked. "By the way, do you know you've got bits of broom in your hair?"

Furiously, Malfoy rubbed his hair with his hands and bared his teeth at them. "Oh, you're so funny, aren't you? Well, pretty soon you're going to be laughing on the other side of your face!"

"Why? What are you going to do about it?" Harry taunted.

"Me? I don't need to lift a finger," Malfoy sneered. "You're going to get yours, and I'm going to sit back and enjoy it."

"What's the matter, ferret? Haven't you got the balls to try and take on Harry face to face?" Ginny goaded the boy.

"I could take him any day of the week," Malfoy spat. "But why should I bother? Potter will be meeting a sticky ending soon enough without me having to exert myself."

"Really? You know, I've heard all this crap before," Harry snorted. "What are you going to do? Make a wish and hope your fairy godmother comes and drops an anvil on my head?"

"You can laugh now, but just you wait until everything is…" Draco started to say, but then shut his mouth abruptly. Without another word, he turned and walked away rapidly.

"Damn," Harry cursed. "I really thought he was going to say something useful then."

"Yeah, taunting Malfoy is always a good tactic," Ginny agreed. "It's just a shame that he's not quite as big of an idiot as he appears sometimes."

"Still, what he did say makes me a bit nervous," Harry admitted. "What was he starting to say? Until everything is what? Ready? In place? He's definitely up to something, is old ferret features."

"Yeah, and we're still waiting for Ron to pull whatever moronic stunt he's got planned, too," she sighed. "I wish he's just get on with it."

"You don't think that Ron and Draco are working together, do you?" Harry asked thoughtfully.

"No way," Ginny said fiercely. "Ron might be an idiot, but there's no way in hell that he'd ever work with Malfoy. He's still a Weasley at the end of the day."

"Just remember what Neville said, though," Harry reminded her. "He said that Ron was secretly going to a Floo address that ending in 'Manor'. Could that be Malfoy Manor?"

"No, I refuse to believe it," Ginny said stubbornly. "My brother would never do that. Oh, he'll get jealous and act like a moron, but he'd never betray us to a Death Eater apprentice."

"Possibly, but he wouldn't see it as betraying you, he'd just be sticking it to me, and from the things he's said previously he may think of it as saving his baby sister from nasty, old Harry Potter," he pointed out.

"This is all speculation, we have no proof at all," Ginny insisted.

"Okay, if you're convinced, I'll drop it," Harry said reluctantly. "Just don't blame me if this comes back to bite us on the bum."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you're wrong," she replied with a confidence she didn't feel.

Surely Ron's dislike of Harry hadn't convinced her brother to join the enemy, had it?

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"Anything off the trolley, dearies?" a voice called out, rousing Ginny from her sleep.

"Yeah, can I get a couple of pumpkin pasties and four chocolate frogs," Harry's voice said from somewhere above her. "You two want anything?"

"Oh, can I have a cauldron cake?" Luna called out from somewhere to her left.

"Nothing for me, thanks, Harry," Hermione declared.

Groggily, Ginny sat up and looked around her owlishly. Her last memory had been boarding the train to take her home for the winter holidays and she had obviously fallen asleep. The perils of having a comfortable, warm boyfriend to snuggle up to, she supposed.

"Here you go," Harry said, handing her one of the pasties and depositing the chocolate frogs in the small gap between them.

"Thanks," she replied, taking the snack gratefully. "How long was I asleep?"

"Only an hour or two," Harry assured her. "Don't worry; you didn't snore too loudly."

"Thanks," she said sarcastically before taking a bite of her pasty.

"Shame about the drooling, though," Harry added.

"Do you want to eat that pasty or wear it?" she warned threateningly.

"Oh, but your so cute when you're sleeping, Ginny," Luna assured her. "You make this wonderful little whistling sound as you breathe."

"Yes, we were trying to guess the tune you were whistling, but we came to the conclusion it was an original composition," Hermione added with a smirk.

"Gits," Ginny muttered.

"We're only teasing," Harry insisted, wrapping his arm around her shoulder again. "I love having you fall asleep beside me. You're so beautiful I could happily sit and just watch you sleep all day."

"Oh, Harry, that was so sweet," Hermione exclaimed, sounding a little wistful. "I wish I had a boyfriend who would say such lovely things to me,"

"You will one day, I'm sure," Ginny told her friend before she planted a lingering kiss on her boyfriend's lips. Her earlier irritation at being woken up suddenly seemed to have vanished for some reason.

"I'm not too bothered about getting a boyfriend right at the moment," Luna announced. "There aren't many boys at Hogwarts that I like and Ginny still refuses to let me borrow Harry on Wednesdays, so I'm perfectly happy to wait. Besides, boys always make my elbows itch for some reason."

"Of course they do," Hermione said fondly.

Ginny looked over at her two friends and smiled. Ever since their argument earlier in the term, Luna and Hermione seemed to have worked out their differences satisfactorily. In fact, with her and Harry spending so much time together, the two witches had gravitated towards each other and had become extremely close. Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood were unlikely friends, but they seemed to complement each other well.

"So, you must be really looking forward to Christmas, Harry," Hermione noted. "I expect you're really looking forward to spending your first Yule with Sirius."

"Oh, definitely," Harry agreed. "I expect Christmas with Sirius about will be a riot. But I must admit, I'm a bit worried about him."

"Why?" Ginny asked in concern. "You've not said anything before."

"Well, it's just I still have no idea what happened between him and Eva," Harry explained. "I've tried to get him to give me some hints in my letters home, but it's hard without letting on that I know what happened between the two of them."

"Yeah, Sirius really doesn't need to know we saw what happened," Ginny agreed emphatically.

"What happened to Sirius? And who is Eva?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Oh, it's nothing important," Harry said hurriedly. "Just this girl Sirius knows."

"Yeah, trust me, Hermione, you really don't want to know about Sirius's salacious activities," Ginny assured her.

"I do," Luna said eagerly.

"Oh, look, we seem to have reached the outskirts of London," Harry said pointing out the window, no doubt in a desperate attempt to change the subject. "We'd better start getting our things together."

Ignoring Luna's slightly disappointed look, Ginny reached up and retrieved her heavy cloak from the overhead storage bin. It was bitterly cold outside and she needed to wrap up. Harry and the other girls similarly equipped themselves with winter clothing and they sat back down to await their arrival at Kings Cross station.

"Who will be meeting you at the station, Ginny?" Hermione enquired.

"I'm not sure exactly," she replied. "I know Mum will be there, but I'm not sure who else will come. Dad's working, but Bill said he might put in an appearance if he can get time off."

"Is he still helping that Veela with her English?" Luna asked with a dreamy smirk.

"Apparently so," Ginny grinned. "I've only had a couple of letters from Bill but most of what I did get seemed to just be talking about what a wonderful girl Fleur is. A normal girl isn't good enough for him. Oh no, HE has to date a part-Veela."

"He is very handsome," Luna pointed out.

"I guess," Ginny reluctantly agreed. "I'm just not completely sure that Fleur is the right girl for him."

"Jealous of her taking your favourite big brother away from you?" Hermione teased.

"Nah, not really," Ginny insisted. "I just want Bill to find the right person and Delacour seems a bit flighty to me. I would suggest Tonks would be better for him if she wasn't arse over end in love with Remus."

"Even if he's being a stupid git about it," Harry snorted.

"And how long did it take you to notice me?" Ginny asked archly.

"That's different," he insisted. "We were too young to be involved before."

"If you say so," Ginny smiled. "Anyway, it looks like we've arrived."

The train had indeed pulled to a halt at the hidden platform at Kings Cross and an expectant crowd was gathering, awaiting their loved ones to disembark. The four friends stood and pulled on their heavy clothes and made their way out of the compartment. They stood patiently in line as kids of all ages waited to get off the train and be reunited with their families. It took a good five minutes for them to make it onto the platform.

"I said I'd meet my father at the station café, so I'll leave you here," Luna announced. "Dad has an obsession with sausage rolls, so I'd better get there before he eats too many and makes himself sick again."

"You're still coming over after Christmas, aren't you?" Harry asked.

"Oh, yes, I can't wait to visit your house," Luna said smiling brightly. "It will be a chance for your Occlumency teacher to test me, as well."

"If she's still around," Harry said worriedly.

The three of them made their farewells with Luna and the blond girl vanished into the crowd of people, dragging her trunk behind her. Hermione seemed especially sad to see her go.

"Any sign of our families?" Ginny asked looking around the busy platform.

"Nah, I… wait, isn't that your mum?" Harry said, pointing to one side.

"How can I tell?" Ginny moaned. "I can barely see over the heads of the first-years."

"Didn't you once tell me good things come in small packages?" Harry laughed. "Come on, your family are over this way."

"Ah, Ginny, there you are," Molly Weasley declared as they approached. The twins and Ron had already located their mother and were talking to a tall, long-haired man standing with his back to them.

"Bill!" Ginny squealed and ran forward to embrace her brother.

"Hiya, little one," Bill said, embracing his sister warmly. "Had to come and welcome my baby sister home, didn't I?"

"She's not so much of a baby anymore," Fred sniggered.

"Yeah, and Mr Potter over there seems to be particularly pleased about how she's growing up," George added.

"Shut it, you two," Ginny warned.

Bill looked at Harry enquiringly for a moment before he turned his attention back to her. He didn't exactly look happy, but he was smart enough not to say anything.

"Have you seen Sirius at all, Mrs Weasley?" Harry asked, breaking the sudden tension.

"Why, yes, he said he would meet you by the platform entrance," Molly Weasley said, smiling mysteriously.

"Okay," Harry said carefully, picking up on the Weasley matriarch's amusement. "Is there something I should know about?"

"I rather think your godfather has a surprise for you," Mrs Weasley replied smugly.

Seeing that they were going to get no further information from that source, Harry and Ginny led the rest of the group towards the exit. Harry seemed a little on edge and was walking as rapidly as the crowds would allow. He had nearly reached the exit when a voice called out.

"Harry, my boy, over here!" Sirius Black called from the back of the platform.

Ginny looked over to see Harry's godfather, smiling broadly, lounging against the far wall. It was his appearance that shocked her, however, it was that of his companion.

"Madam Eva?" Harry gasped. "What are you going here?"

"Ah, Harry, I have some exciting news I wanted to share with you," Sirius interrupted. "I really wanted to do this in person rather than by letter. You see, after you left for Hogwarts in September, Eva and I started stepping out together. Things have been going wonderfully and last week I decided I really didn't want to be with anyone else and I… err…"

"He proposed and I said yes," Eva declared, holding out her left hand which now sported a fabulous diamond ring.

"You're getting married? That's wonderful!" Harry shouted and sprang forward to catch his godfather in a tight hug.

Ginny grinned and stepped forward to hug Eva. "Congratulations," she told her teacher. "Although I think you deserve a medal for agreeing to put up with this old dog."

"Oi!" Sirius protested, releasing Harry and accepting a hug from Ginny. "I'll have you know that I'm quite the catch."

"This is fantastic," Harry said enthusiastically after he'd embraced Madam Eva. "I'm so glad you two have got together. You'll be wonderful for each other."

"Well, I think this calls for a celebration," Sirius declared. "Molly, you and your boys would be most welcome to join us back at the house for some refreshments."

"I want to go back to the Burrow," Ron stated loudly, causing everyone to look at him sharply.

"Yes, well, we do have to drop your trunks off back at home, anyway," Molly said sadly. "You can stay behind if you don't want to share in Sirius's good news."

"Yeah, I do," Ron snapped, causing the twins to frown at him angrily and Bill to shake his head.

"Very well," Molly agreed. "Sirius, we'll just drop off our things and meet you at your place, if that's all right."

"Of course!" Sirius said happily. "It will give us a chance to get things ready."

"Alright! Home five minutes and we're invited to a party already," George whooped.

"Party! Party! Party!" Fred chanted, doing a strange little dance.

"That's the spirit!" Sirius laughed. "How about you, Hermione? Will you join us?"

"Oh, well, I'll have to see if my parents are willing," Hermione said in surprise. She'd been hovering at the edge of the group looking rather left out.

"Well, ask them, too! The more the merrier," Sirius announced happily.

Hermione grinned and ran off through the platform exit to find her parents. Ginny smiled at her friend's eagerness.

Harry came over and put his arms around her shoulders. His eyes were positively shinning with joy and Ginny began to realise just how worried he'd been about his godfather.

"Isn't this great news?" he asked her happily.

"Yeah, it is," she agreed. "Sirius needs a strong woman to keep him in line and Eva's just the girl to do it."

"She is at that," he laughed and pulled her into a quick kiss. "Go get your party clothes on, Gin-Gin; I think this is going to be a large one."

She laughed at his enthusiasm and gave him a warm hug. George was right: they had only just got off the train and they were heading to a party already. This was promising to be a great Christmas!

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"Hands where I can see them, Potter," said a slightly amused voice from somewhere to Ginny's left. She glanced round and saw her brother, Bill, dancing slowly with the French girl, Fleur Delacour, in his arms.

"Sod off, Bill," Ginny mumbled, a mix of tiredness and alcohol slurring her words. "I decide where Harry can put his hands, not you!"

"Yeah, and I can decide how badly I hurt him later," Bill replied cheerfully.

"Leeze zem alone, Bill," Fleur protested, punching the tall red-head lightly on the shoulder. "Zey are beautiful together. Zey danced like zat at ze ball at 'Ogwarts last Christmas and it is obvious to everyone zat they are very much in love."

Ginny glanced up worriedly at Harry, concerned at his reaction to Fleur's words, but to her relief he didn't appear too bothered. Indeed, it looked like her boyfriend was bothered about much of anything at that moment.

"I think it's time you went to bed," Ginny decided, noting his glassy eyes and foolish grin.

"Don't want to," Harry slurred. "Wanna dance with you."

"You can dance with me another time," she promised. "In fact, I'm going to insist on it. But as you can barely stand, I think you'd better hit the sack."

Harry mumbled something that might have been agreement and allowed himself to be led from the room. Ginny was feeling a bit unstable herself, but fortunately she hadn't partied quite as hard as her boyfriend, who'd seemed over the moon at the news of Sirius and Eva's engagement.

Gently, she guided Harry round the slumbering body of her brother Fred who was lying flat out on the floor. Angelina and George were snogging on the sofa just a few feet away, oblivious to the fact that she was supposed to be dating Fred. Still, it was a strange relationship that they all shared, although it did make Ginny wonder what had happened to Alicia, whom she was sure she'd seen about earlier.

It really had been a hell of a party. Things had kicked off about four o'clock once the Weasleys (minus Ron) had arrived at Grimmauld Place and further guests had been arriving steadily all evening. Quite how word had spread of the event, Ginny had no idea, but she was amazed by the number of people who had turned up. And if there was ever one person who knew how to throw a party, it was Sirius Black.

It was now the early hours of the morning and the party was winding down. Some guests had left ages ago. The Grangers were among the first to leave, mainly due to the intoxicated state of John Granger who had taken rather too much of a liking to Firewhisky. Still, Ginny was sure the man's trousers would turn up eventually. Her own mother had also had to be taken home some hours before, after consuming an entire bottle of aged elven wine by herself. Fortunately, Arthur Weasley had arrived after finishing work and had remained relatively sober during the evening, and was thus able to help his wife through the Floo.

Between them, she and Harry managed to stumble up the stairs towards his bedroom. They were able to get his door open without him falling over and Ginny was just trying to decide if she could get away with spending the night here when a scream roused her out of her stupor. A light came on and Ginny saw a young woman lying on Harry's bed, desperately trying to cover herself with a sheet.

"Tonks?" Harry mumbled in shock, the sight of the topless young woman obviously enough to sober him up somewhat.

"Bloody hell, Harry! Don't you know how to knock?" the girl cursed.

"This is my room," Harry pointed out flatly.

"What? Oh… bugger. I thought this was a guest room. I guess it does look like your room, now I think about it," Tonks muttered while still clutching a sheet about her.

While they were talking, Ginny was looking with interest at the other body lying on the bed. The man was desperately trying to hide his face under a pillow, but only partially succeeding. Ginny broke into a wide smile when she realised who it was.

"Hello, Remus," Ginny said loudly. She heard Harry gasp beside her.

The man sheepishly removed the pillow from his face and sat up. He was shirtless and his hair was in disarray. He also looked immensely embarrassed.

"Oh, hello, Ginny," Remus said shamefacedly. "It appears that we're in the wrong room."

"Yeah, it does," Harry said with his voice brimming with laughter. "There's a spare room across the way if you need it."

"Of course," he replied. "Umm, would you two kindly give us a moment to make ourselves presentable?"

"Sure," Ginny giggled and pulled Harry out of the room. They stood outside desperately trying not to laugh. A minute later, a harassed-looking Remus and Tonks exited the room and stood looking embarrassed.

"Err… you see… the thing is… "Remus mumbled.

"Oh, shut it, Remus," Ginny laughed. "There's no need to get all red in the face. Everyone's been waiting for you two to get together for ages."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "In fact, I think you pair should make good use of that spare room over there."

Remus turned bright red, but Tonks just shook her head and grabbed the man's arm, dragging him towards the room Harry had indicated.

"Night-night, you two," Ginny called. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Tonks' response was limited to two raised fingers before she and Remus vanished into the room and closed the door behind them. As soon as they disappeared from sight Harry and Ginny both collapsed in laughter.

"Oh, did you see the look on their faces," Ginny said, tears of laughter dripping down her cheek.

"Yeah! Remus looked like a naughty schoolboy who had been caught doing something inappropriate behind the broom sheds," Harry snorted.

Ginny looked over at her boyfriend who seemed to have snapped out of his earlier stupor. Perhaps the evening could end up even better than she hoped.

"Well, you seem to have made a good recovery," she purred, running her hands up and down his chest.

"I was just tired before," he explained. "I really haven't had that much to drink. I think the sight of those two woke me up."

"Since you're so awake, maybe we should follow their example," Ginny suggested.

"You know, I always did think that Remus was a fine role-model," Harry grinned.

They hurried into Harry's bedroom and locked the door behind them.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Next morning, Ginny carefully peeked out around the bedroom door and was relieved to find the hallway empty.

"It's all clear, Harry," she whispered.

"Great, let's head downstairs and find some breakfast," Harry said softly. "Remember, if anyone asks you stayed in the spare room on the top floor. No one would think of using that one."

Quietly as they could, they crept down the stairs and headed towards the kitchen. Once they entered the room they found Eva and, much to their surprise, Sirius already up.

"Morning, kids," Sirius greeted them in a pained voice.

"Three Hangover Potions and he's still feeling delicate," Eva laughed. "Would you believe he wanted to lie around in bed all day? Honestly, things are going to change once were married."

"I never really got the chance to talk to you about that last night," Ginny noted. "Just how did you manage to make this old dog pop the question? You weren't even a couple when we left for school."

"I guess I have Harry to thank for that," Eva said, smiling fondly at the pair of them. "He convinced me to confess to Sirius what I'd done and what my true feelings were. I honestly thought that Sirius would demand that I leave and never return, but after a week or so he came to me and said he wanted to try and make a go of a relationship with me. Needless to say, things went very well and he proposed to me last week."

"Nice to see you're developing some sense in your old age, Sirius," Harry teased.

"It's a shocking idea, isn't it?" Sirius laughed. "I admit, when Eva came to me and said she'd manipulated me into sleeping with her, I nearly blew my top. But when I sat and thought about it, I must confess I'd done things nearly as bad in the past, so it would be hypocritical of me to complain too much. Besides, it's not like I didn't enjoy the results."

Eva blushed a brilliant shade of red.

"But when she explained why she did what she did, it really got me thinking," he continued. "I'm thirty-six next year and for the first time in my life I have real responsibilities that I am determined not to mess up. I'm too old to be chasing young witches and staying up all hours drinking myself into a stupor. No, I realised it was time to grow-up and find a woman to have a proper relationship. The more I thought about it the more I realised that woman could be Eva, so I sat down and talked with her and we agreed to give it a go. I can honestly say that the last four months have been the happiest of my life. For the first time I can really understand what your parents had together, Harry, and now I've got that for myself, I never want it to end."

"And it won't, my love," Eva told him, crossing the kitchen to place a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"Well, I think this is wonderful," Harry said vehemently. "You'll both be brilliant for each other."

"When's the wedding going to be?" Ginny asked eagerly.

"In the summer," Eva confirmed. "Ginny, I was wondering, I don't have much family left anymore, and very few close friends; would you consider being my bridesmaid?"

"Eva, I would love to!" Ginny exclaimed happily.

"I would ask you to be my best man, Harry, but I've already promised the job to Remus," Sirius said apologetically.

"That's fine," Harry said dismissively. "He's your oldest friend, he should do it."

"I would have loved your father to be at my side when I finally got married," Sirius said wistfully. "Mind you, he and Lily would have had a field day teasing me. I think I declared that I would be a bachelor for life a few times to them. They would have loved rubbing my nose in it."

"Yeah, and quite rightly, I expect. I bet you gave my dad a load of grief for getting married so young," Harry noted.

Sirius gave a carefree wave of his hand. "We all make mistakes," he agreed, "however, I am in far too happy to be wound up by you, my lad. In fact, I'm in such a good mood I won't even ask where young Miss Weasley here spent the night."

"In the spare room on the top floor," Harry answered automatically.

"Of course she did," Sirius smirked and Eva laughed. Clearly, they weren't fooling anyone.

Further conversation was halted by what Ginny at first thought was that an Inferi shuffling into the room, but on closer inspection proved to be her brother, George.

"I don't suppose there happens to be a spare Hangover Potion about that I could borrow?" George mumbled, his eyes red and face puffy.

"Over on the sideboard," Eva said pointing. "As soon as Sirius announced he wanted to throw an engagement party I took the liberty of stocking up on them."

"Do you see why I love her?" Sirius grinned.

George said nothing, but lurched over to the sideboard and grabbed one of the blue bottles that were lined up there. With trembling hands, he pulled out the stopper and downed the contents of the bottle in one.

"Oh, sweet Merlin, that's better," he sighed contentedly afterwards.

"Come sit down and I'll get Dobby to rustle you up a good breakfast," Eva said kindly. "Harry, Ginny; you must be hungry, too?"

"Definitely," Harry confirmed. "Two Dobby breakfast specials, please,"

"Morning," George greeted them groggily as he slid into the chair next to Ginny. "I don't think I've said that yet, have I?"

"Nah, I think any form of coherent speech was beyond you, before," Harry smirked.

"Oi, I've got a bone to pick with you, George Weasley," said Ginny angrily. "What were you playing at snogging Angelina Johnson last night? How can you stab Fred in the back like that?"

"What are you talking about, Gin-Gin?" George asked in puzzlement. "Angelina isn't going out with Fred anymore."

"What?" Ginny exclaimed. "When did this happen?"

"Oh, just a few days ago," George explained casually. "He's going out with Alicia now."

"Wait a minute," Harry interrupted. "I thought you were going out with Alicia."

"I was, but we split up," George replied.

"When?" Harry asked.

"Oh, just a few days ago," George grinned. "I'm going out with Angelina now."

"Are you telling me that just a few days ago you two just decided to swap girlfriends?" Ginny asked in amazement.

"Yep, but it's not a great surprise really, is it? After all, it was only going to be a matter of time before Angelina noticed that I'm much better looking than Fred," George explained happily before be frowned. "Mind you, for some reason Alicia got it into her head that Fred was much better looking than me. I can't imagine how that poor girl started to think that."

Ginny looked at Harry for a moment before they both burst out laughing.


	11. Chapter 11 – It's Christmas!

**Chapter 11 – It's Christmas! **

AN

A nice early up-date for you all, as I really want to get TR2 finished and posted as quickly as I can. I'm struggling to make much headway on TR3 (although I am well into chapter 4) and I really need get this one put to bed so I can concentrate on that. It doesn't help that I'm pretty much decided on what I'm going to write next after this series, and that's distracting me, too!

Continuing my habit of posting Yuletide chapters at any point apart from December, here is a nice festive one for you to enjoy. For all non-Brits, please note that the title of this chapter should be bellowed at the top of your voice in a Brummie accent while wearing a top hat covered in mirrors.

Huge thanks to Arnel. Most of Hagrid's dialogue is actually hers, proving once again that I'm incapable of writing a West Country accent, even though I actually speak with one.

* * *

"Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!" roared Sirius Black as he entered through the kitchen door of the Burrow. Ginny had to laugh; Sirius was obviously a man who took the festivities seriously, judging by the full Santa's outfit he was wearing, complete with fake thick, white beard.

"Oh, Sirius, you made it!" Molly Weasley cried in delight as she bustled over to greet the man.

"I wouldn't have missed a Weasley Christmas for the world!" Sirius declared loudly.

Filing into the warm kitchen behind him came Eva and Harry, both resplendent in Santa hats and grinning at Sirius's over-the-top behaviour. Sirius immediately grabbed Eva by the hand and dragging her over towards the Weasley matriarch. "Eva, come and greet our gracious hostess."

"Lovely to see you again, Mrs Weasley," Eva said, offering her hand. "Thank you so much for inviting me into your home this Christmas."

Ginny bit her lip to stop herself laughing out loud at her mother's hesitant reaction to Madam Hagen. Eva was considerably taller than her host. In fact, Molly's eyes only came up to Eva's formidable chest. Ginny got the impression that her mum was on the verge of yelling 'giant!' and running away.

"Um, the pleasures all mine, Miss Hagen," replied Molly nervously.

Eva smiled patiently at the smaller woman. Clearly this was a reaction she was used to.

"Hiya, Ginny," Harry said as he slid his arms around her and kissed he warmly on the cheek.

"Hiya, yourself," she giggled. "What happened? You're nearly on time. I thought Sirius was constitutionally incapable of being on time for anything."

"Ah, that was before he came involved with the lovely Madam Hagen," Harry smirked. "It's amazing how he's suddenly become more punctual."

"I'll bet," Ginny laughed. "So, where's my present? You've been here a whole two minutes and I'm still gift-less!"

"Pushy little thing, aren't you?" he chuckled before reaching into a bag he'd been carrying over his shoulder. He withdrew a large, rectangular parcel wrapped in bright, gold paper. He didn't immediately give it to her, however, and a worried expression crossed his features.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Ginny asked suspiciously. "You haven't gone and spent a fortune on me again, have you? If you have, you're in big trouble, buster!"

"No, no, I haven't," Harry insisted. "It did cross my mind, though. I really wanted to buy you a new broom, but after what you said after your birthday, I thought you might get angry at me. But I can get you a broom, if you like. We could go to Diagon Alley next week and…"

"No broom!" Ginny said sharply. "I do not want people thinking I'm only after your money."

"Oh. Okay, if you're sure," he replied hesitantly.

"Yeah, people should realise that I'm actually only after your body," she smirked.

Harry laughed. "Well, that's okay, then. Here, Merry Christmas, Ginny. I hope you like it."

Nervously, Harry handed the present to her. Being one of nature's rippers, she eagerly tore off the gold paper and found a plain, wooden box within. Placing the box on the kitchen table, she carefully opened it and found it contained numerous coloured pencils, various tubes of paint, a number of brushes, a small palette and a large pad of paper.

"I remembered you said how much you use to like doing art," Harry said hesitantly. "I thought this might be useful for you."

Ginny gently shut the wooden box and turned to look at her apprehensive boyfriend. She slowly reached up and slipped her arms around the back of his neck, before pulling him down into a fierce kiss.

"Oi, not in the kitchen!" Fred yelled.

"Yeah, get a room," George agreed loudly. "Actually, on second thoughts, don't!"

"Do you know why I love this gift so much?" Ginny asked Harry, pointedly ignoring her brothers.

"No, why?" he asked, slightly flushed from her passionate kiss.

"Because it proves that you really listened to me and respect my wishes," she told him. "This is a million times better than any silly broom. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Harry replied, his smile lighting up the room.

"Come on, your present is under tree in the other room," Ginny said, grabbing his hand and dragging him through to the living room.

They had just entered the living room when they suddenly found themselves face to face with Ron. He broke into a scowl at the sight of them and his face began to flush with anger.

"Merry Christmas, Ron," Harry greeted his ex-friend in an inoffensive voice, surprising Ginny. She looked up at her boyfriend and saw that he was looking at Ron with a neutral expression.

Ron seemed as surprised by the conciliatory gesture as she was, and for a second he looked bewildered.

"Yeah, same to you," he said eventually and pushed past Harry into the kitchen. Ginny heard Harry sigh.

"What was that about?" Ginny asked. "Are you trying to make-up with Ron?"

"Not really," Harry admitted. "I just don't want to fight with him anymore, especially not today."

"That's very mature of you," she said, squeezing his hand. "I wish Ron would be more like that."

Harry just shrugged and Ginny continue to lead him over towards the tree. Most of the presents had already been opened that morning before Harry arrived, but there were still a few scattered beneath the green branches. Ginny knelt and picked up a small package wrapped in green and white paper and handed it to Harry.

"It's really not much, but I hope you like it," she said earnestly.

Harry smiled and carefully unwrapped his present. Ginny noted that he seemed reluctant to tear the paper at all, in stark contrast to her own gift-opening technique. Inside the wrapping was a simple wooden frame, maybe eight inches by five. Mounted in the frame was a charcoal drawing of a young couple locked in a tender embrace. Harry gasped when he saw it.

"I hope it's okay," Ginny said nervously. "I tried to get their likeness as well as I could, but I only had a couple of photos I borrowed from Sirius to go on."

"It's wonderful, Ginny," Harry exclaimed. "You've captured my parents perfectly. Did you really draw this yourself?"

"Yeah, it took me a few attempts, but I think it came out alright in the end," she said, chewing her bottom lip.

"It's bloody brilliant, that's what it is!" Harry insisted. "They look so lifelike. This is even better than a wizarding photo. Thank you so much. This is going on my bedside cabinet as soon as I get home."

"Are you sure you like it? I mean, I wanted to get you something else, but I just didn't have the money," Ginny said apologetically.

"What were you telling me about gifts coming from the heart?" Harry reminded her. "Honestly, I love this present; it really means the world to me."

To prove his point Harry grabbed her and kissed her passionately. At first, she was caught by surprise, but she soon felt herself melting against him and she started to run her fingers through his messy hair. They let their lips slide against each other's sensually while their tongues lazily jousted.

"Am I interrupting anything?" a voice asked unexpectedly, causing them both to jump in fright. They spun around to find Eva standing watching them in amusement.

"Molly asked me to fetch the pair of you as she is just about ready to serve Christmas dinner," Eva smirked.

"Thanks, Eva," Harry said shakily. "We'll be right there."

"That would probably be wise. After all, you don't want Molly coming in here and finding out what you're up to, do you?" Eva asked, her eyes shining with amusement.

"No, we're coming," Ginny confirmed, grabbling Harry's hand and leading him back towards the kitchen.

They found that nearly all the family were already seated, so they hurried over and took their places. Ginny found herself sitting next to Bill, who was rather melancholy as Fleur had returned to France to spend the holidays with her family. She hugged her favourite brother and offered him a cracker to pull. He laughed and grabbed one end ready to pull just as there was a knock on the kitchen door.

"Who could that be?" Molly asked in puzzlement. "We're not expecting anyone else…"

Ginny quickly glanced at Harry who smiled happily. They both suspected they knew who was at the door.

"You should go and see who it is, Mum" Ginny told her. "Perhaps it's Father Christmas with another gift for you."

"I hardly think so, Ginny," Molly laughed, but made her way over to the back door. She opened it and gasped out loud.

"Hello, mother," an unseen voice said in greeting. "Am I welcome here?"

"Percy!" Molly cried in joy. "Of course you are, my love! Come in, come in!"

Silence reigned as Percy shuffled into the room with Audrey following closely behind. The blond girl caught Ginny's eye and smiled. Ginny just winked back.

"Hello, everyone," Percy said nervously. "I know most of you aren't terribly pleased to see me, but I wanted to put this silly feud behind us and see you all again."

"You're the one who turned your back on this family," Fred shouted. "We're suddenly good enough for you again, are we?"

"Fred!" Molly cried in dismay.

"No, mother, he's right," Percy said in a resigned voice. "I did turn my back on this family and I'm not surprised you're angry at me. But I had my reasons for doing what I did and a few of them I still believe to be correct. However, someone managed to convince me that I was being a fool by estranging myself from you all and that there is nothing more important than family. I would therefore like to ask your forgiveness and request that I be allowed to be a member of the Weasley clan again."

Arthur stood and walked slowly over to his estranged son. "You said some very hurtful things to me in the past, son," he said. "You don't sound very remorseful, either. Tell me, do you still think that I'm a fool that has hurt this family?"

Percy sighed. "I still believe you could have done some things differently, father, but I do understand why you've taken the stance you have. But on the other hand, can you honestly say that you've made the Ministry a better place by your actions?"

"I don't care what the rest of the Ministry do. I know I can look at myself in the mirror with a clear conscience," Arthur replied stiffly. "How could I possible raise my children to do what's right if I don't practice what I preach?"

"So, you're happy to sit back, safe in the knowledge that what you're doing is right and proper, and ignore everything that's going on around you?" Percy retorted, anger beginning to creep into his voice.

"I do everything I can to make the Ministry, and indeed, the world a better place," Arthur declared loudly. "Can you say the same thing, Percy?"

"I assure you, between my fiancé and I, we're doing far more to fight injustice than you are," Percy snapped.

"Fiancé?" Molly gasped.

"Stop it, both of you!" Ginny yelled suddenly, causing every head in the room to turn towards her. She took a deep breath and continued in a calmer manner. "Look, Dad, Percy and I have been in communication for a few months now and it was me that encouraged him to come here today. I'm sure he would be first to admit he's said some things that were just plain wrong, but equally, I think he's frustrated that you never listen to his side of things."

Arthur sharply looked at his son and back at his daughter in confusion.

"You've been in contact with Percy all this time?" Molly exclaimed, cutting off whatever her husband was about to say. "Ginny, why on earth didn't you tell us? How could you hide this from me?"

"I didn't say anything because I wasn't certain Percy would turn up today, and from the reception he's getting I expect he's regretting coming now," Ginny snapped. "Look, Percy is trying to mend bridges here; can't we all just sit down together and eat Christmas dinner as a family? Once we're finished, we can sit and talk things through."

"Yes, I'm sorry, Percy. I know we've had our differences, but you're still my son and a member of this family. Of course you and your, err… fiancé are welcome to join us," Arthur declared magnanimously.

"Thank you, father," Percy replied. "Well, I suppose I should introduce my intended here. Everyone, please meet Audrey Rankin. We've been engaged since June and we're hoping to get married sometime next year."

"Blimey, just how do you always manage to have some bird on your arm, Percy?" George chuckled much to Percy's evident annoyance.

"Hello, everybody," Audrey announced in firm voice. "I'm sorry that I haven't had the opportunity to meet you all before."

"Umm, hello, dear," Molly said hesitantly. "This is something of a surprise, I must say. We had no idea Percy was even seeing anyone, let alone that he had got engaged. Where did you two meet?"

"I work at the Ministry, too," Audrey explained coolly before her expression turned fierce. "I was attracted to Percy because he was such an upright and dedicated man and, contrary to what some people evidently think, he does his utmost to do the right thing. He simply works within the system rather than fighting it head-on. I firmly believe that my future husband is a good man and anyone who says otherwise will have me to answer to."

There was a stunned silence at Audrey's impassioned defence of Percy. Molly looked slightly embarrassed while Arthur's bald patch turned an interesting shade of red. The tension was suddenly lifted when Ginny burst out laughing.

"Trust me, this is one witch you don't want to cross," she announced to her family before she looked back at Audrey approvingly. "Why don't you two come and pull up a couple of seats next to me and Harry? The turkey is getting cold and I'm starving."

Audrey grinned and made her way over towards Ginny, pulling Percy along with her. Bill moved over to create some more space and the two latecomers were squeezed in at the table. Molly bustled about serving the Christmas feast she had prepared and pretty soon the festive atmosphere returned to the Weasley household.

Ginny looked around her in satisfaction. It had taken weeks of persuasion to convince Percy to attend today, but it looked like her persistence was paying off. The Weasley family was whole once again, and in Audrey they had gained a worthy addition. Feeling extremely pleased with herself, Ginny helped herself to a large slice of turkey and made plans to ravish Harry under the mistletoe later. All in all, it was shaping up to be a wonderful Christmas.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"I hereby call to order this meeting of the formally titled New Marauders, formally the Fudge Shafting Society, and now known as the Potter for Minister Action Group. Can I firstly welcome our new members and ask everyone to deliver their reports," Sirius said, standing at the head of the kitchen table in Grimmauld Place where they were conducting their first meeting after Christmas.

"I want to vote for a change in our group's name," Harry interrupted.

"Well, you can't, so shut up," Sirius told him. "Perhaps we should start with our newest members? Percy and Audrey, would you like to kick off?"

"Our file on Minister Fudge's misdeeds is growing nicely," Audrey reported. She had taken the Unbreakable Oath required to join the group that very morning, but already seemed to be fitting in nicely. "We're pretty certain that we've accounted for most the bribes he received from Malfoy within the last five years, although records of what happened before he became Minister are a little sketchy. It is pretty clear that his entire election campaign was funded by the Malfoys, however."

"Do we have enough to bring him down?" Remus asked.

"I would say yes, but we think we've uncovered some interesting information regarding misappropriation of funds set aside for Ministry building projects. If this all pans out, it's likely that Fudge has stolen hundreds of thousands of Galleons from tax payers. Give us a month or two to dig a bit further and I think we can hand you Fudge's head on a plate," Audrey said with satisfaction.

"Excellent work, young lady," Sirius beamed. "I can see you're going to be a wonderful addition to this group. What about Fudge's revolting underling, Umbridge? Do we have enough to stich her up?"

"I think we do," Percy confirmed. "It only took a little bit of digging before we found numerous witches who all claimed to have been abused and tortured by the woman. I've been working closely with Tonks here to collect statements and further evidence against her. I would say that any time we wish we can have Dolores arrested."

"Yeah, and sooner the better," Tonks said passionately. "That woman is a sadist! Umbridge seems to view the Administration Witches as her personal playthings. If any of those poor girls step out of line, then that fat toad takes pleasure in hurting them. Most of those girls desperately need their jobs, so a culture of silence has built up. Fortunately, having an Assistant to the Minister and an Auror asking questions has prompted a few of them to speak out. I think we should take this bitch down soon. I'm worried about her being around all those children."

"Umbridge has largely been keeping her nose clean when it comes to dealing with the pupils," Harry reported. "I think it helps that she sees me as the representative of the students, so any problems get shoved in my direction. No, at the moment she's just terrorising the teachers and making Dumbledore pull his hair out."

"Yeah, Dumbledore is not a happy bunny at present," Ginny added. "Umbridge has started issuing 'Educational Decrees' under the authority of the Minister and is turning the school upside-down. As most of the changes have been positive we've let her get on with it, but I think she's starting to step over the line a bit."

"That's right," Harry agreed. "Her last decree tried to give pure-bloods the automatic right to additional education after Hogwarts, while excluding Muggleborns completely. I managed to talk her out of it, but it's clear that's the direction her thinking is going in."

"Talking about Dumbledore, is he still leaving the pair of you alone?" Sirius enquired.

"Mostly," Harry confirmed. "He did try and talk to me after the Quidditch match against Slytherin, but when Ginny turned up he seemed to change his mind."

"Probably didn't want any witnesses to what he was going to say," Ginny sniffed.

"That's quite likely," Harry agreed. "Anyway, it seems our Headmaster has his hands full with Umbridge at the moment. The rumours are that he had to use up a lot of favours to prevent Snape getting sacked. It hasn't helped him that the new teachers, Professor Blackmore and Madam Vladimirescu, have turned out to be really popular. History and Divination have gone from being the two most hated subjects to being the most popular."

"Of course, it helps that most of the male population of Hogwarts is lusting after Vladimirescu," Ginny smirked. "That low-cut top she wears and that husky voice certainly make her popular with the boys."

"Really?" Sirius noted with interest.

"Sirius," Eva growled.

"Total inappropriate behaviour for a teacher," Sirius said quickly. "Shouldn't be allowed."

"So, how are you two doing?" Remus asked while the rest of the group sniggered at Sirius's discomfort. "Have you been keeping your training up?"

"Pretty much," Ginny confirmed. "The H.D.A. takes up a lot of time, but it's worth it. The group that we have now are practically eating out of Harry's hand, and we have first and second years begging to be allowed to join."

"I'm really proud of how they've all done," Harry said with a smile. "Most of the deadwood dropped out after the first couple of weeks, but the ones we have left all work their socks off. They're a great bunch."

"And they all look up to their fabulous teacher," Ginny added, grinning as Harry flushed bright red.

"Well, things seem nicely in hand at Hogwarts. I suspect we'll need to take Umbridge down pretty soon, but let's hang on for as long as we can while she's doing such a good job of distracting Dumbledore," Sirius decided. "Let's turn our attention to the Death Eaters and their insidious master. Any progress on the Horcruxes?"

The group shifted uncomfortably. The two new members had only been briefed on Voldemort's means of avoiding death earlier that day and the news had come as a terrible shock. Percy, in particular, had been horrified that his sister had been possessed by one of the evil objects and had to be restrained form storming out to hunt down Lucius Malfoy that second.

"We have started to compile a list of potential objects and locations, but it's all largely been guess work up to this point," Remus admitted.

"I'd really like to get Hermione involved in this," Harry said firmly. "This is exactly the sort of thing she'd be great at."

"She'll be arriving tomorrow, won't she?" Eva asked. "I'll be able to test how good her Occlumency is once she's here."

"Yeah, hopefully she and Luna will be okay, but we're not nearly as skilled at teaching the subject as you are, Eva," Ginny admitted.

"With both Snape and Dumbledore about, we daren't get the girls involved any deeper until we know they can protect their minds," Sirius insisted. "However, I agree with Harry, Hermione would be a huge benefit to this project. Miss Lovegood would also be a welcome addition, providing access to friendly press coverage as she does."

"If the girls are as intelligent as they seem, I'm sure I can get them up to speed quickly," Eva assured them.

"Good show," Sirius said, smiling affectionately at his future wife. "Well, if no one has anything else, I suggest we ask Dobby to serve lunch. Dobby, what have you got for us?"

"I's be making turkey sandwiches from the leftovers," the Dobby replied enthusiastically.

It was a great surprise to the little elf when everyone groaned loudly at his choice. Perhaps having turkey four days in a row was too much?

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"Harry! Ginny! How are you? Did you have a good Christmas?" Hermione asked happily as she sprinted down the platform to meet them.

"Hi, Hermione," Harry said warmly as he opened his arms to welcome his best friend with a hug. "We've had a great Christmas. How about you?"

"It was very nice, actually," Hermione smiled. "My parents were still rather embarrassed about the mistakes they made over the summer and were trying their best to make up for them. It was wonderful for us all to be able to get together without arguments or misunderstandings. I think they've learnt to trust me a bit more now."

"Is that why they let you come on the train by yourself?" Ginny asked.

"Possibly," Hermione shrugged, "but it isn't that far from Winchester into London and I've done many times before. I'm surprised Sirius isn't here, though."

"Oh, he meant to be, but he didn't make it out of bed in time to come with us," Harry sniggered.

"You can tell Eva didn't stay the night, can't you," Ginny laughed.

"So, how are we getting to your house, Harry?" Hermione asked, shouldering he small rucksack.

"Same way as we got here: by tube," Harry responded. "Here, let me take your bag."

"Thank you," Hermione said, letting him take the rucksack from her. "I never really like taking the tube. It's always so crowded."

"Yeah, well, it can't be helped. It's just a shame your train came in at Waterloo rather than Kings Cross, otherwise we could have just walked. Never mind, hopefully it should be fairly quiet at this time of day. We need to get on the Bakerloo line initially and then change over to the Victoria line. It shouldn't take long," Harry said confidently.

"He's becoming a real expert at this," Ginny noted. "I would have been hopelessly lost if he wasn't here."

"Nice to know he's useful for something," Hermione smirked.

"Oi! How would you two like to find your own way to Grimmauld Place?" Harry responded grumpily.

"Oh, as if you would abandon two such beautiful young ladies in the big, bad city," Ginny grinned taking his arm.

"Yes, we'll both be very grateful to you for looking after us," Hermione said, fluttering her eyelashes in a very untypical way, and taking his other arm.

"Great, so now I've got the pair of you ganging up on me for the rest of the week, have I?" he sighed, before leading them towards the escalator that led to the underground.

"Admit it, you love it really," Ginny smirked.

"Only because it's my two favourite witches doing it," Harry agreed. "Come on, Luna should be arriving soon and I'd like to be there to greet her."

"See, two girls aren't enough. Mr Insatiable here wants three," Ginny stage whispered to Hermione.

"I'm surprised he has the time or energy to get anything done," Hermione replied, tutting.

"Will you two leave it out!" Harry protested. "This is the way rumours start."

"I can just imagine what the papers would say," Hermione giggled. "Harry Potter's harem of shame! That's got to be worth the front page. It's just as well Rita Skeeter has disappeared; just imagine what she'd do with the story. I wonder whatever happened to her."

Ginny and Harry just stared straight ahead and said nothing. They really were going to have to explain to their friend what happened soon. That was not a conversation she was looking forward to.

In the end, the tube proved to be fairly manageable and, for once, there were no maintenance disruptions to contend with. The three of them left the underground at the Highbury and Islington station and from there it was only a short walk to Grimmauld Place. During the journey, Ginny told Hermione all about their Christmas celebrations at the Burrow and Percy's return to the family. She was pretty sure that she saw her friend blush when she mentioned Percy's name and Ginny suspected that was further evidence that Hermione had a secret crush on her older brother. She had to agree with George; how Percy managed to have so much luck with the ladies was a mystery.

By the time they reached Grimmauld Place, Luna had already arrived, having the luxury of travelling via the Floo Network. The small group all greeted the blond witch warmly and they made their way to the living room where Dobby plied them with tea and cakes.

"Ah, there you all are," Sirius declared as he walked into the room. "Hermione! Lovely to see you again. You, too, Luna. I must say, it's really wonderful to have so many beautiful young witches about the place."

"Are you implying that the place normally has no beautiful witches in it?" Eva enquired as she walked into the room behind Sirius.

"Good heavens, of course not! Your beauty shines like a beacon in the night, my love," Sirius cried and grabbed Eva's hand which he proceeded to kiss rapidly.

"Good save," Ginny smirked.

"Lucky for him," Eva noted. Sirius was now planting kisses up her arm and showed no inclination to stop. "Welcome, Hermione and Luna. After you two have finished your refreshments, I suggest we get straight down to it. I'll test your Occlumency ability and we can then decide if you need any further training during the next few days. I believe you're both staying until New Year's Day?"

"Yes, I've very much looking forward to it," Luna said nodding. "Daddy always goes by the Atlantian calendar and their New Year is in the middle of April. It's not so much fun being the only one to celebrate at that time."

"Is that why you spent a day wearing that paper party hat at school last spring?" Ginny asked her friend.

"Yes, it was," Luna replied before frowning. "I was really expecting at least one person to ask why I was wearing it, but they never did."

"Sorry, Luna, I thought it was a fashion choice," Ginny apologised.

"You think a paper party hat is fashionable? Sometimes I worry about you, Ginny," Luna sighed.

Harry started sniggering until a sharp kick on the shins shut him up.

"Well, if you ladies are ready, I would like to start testing you now," Eva decided. "Who will be first?"

"I will, Eva," Hermione volunteered eagerly. She leapt up from the couch and took a seat opposite Eva as indicated.

"_Legilimens!_" Eva cried while pointing her wand directly at Hermione's head. They remained fixed in that position for nearly a minute before Eva relaxed.

"Very good, Hermione," Eva praised. "It took me quite a while to access your mind and you would have been aware of my attempts immediately, allowing you to take action. Your mental shields are not perfect, but give me a couple of days and we'll have them up to speed."

"Thank you, Eva," Hermione smiled, clearly pleased at her success.

Hermione returned to her seat on the couch and Luna took her place. Eva repeated the spell but this time halted after only a few seconds.

"I'm sorry, Luna, but your shields are nowhere near good enough. I managed to enter your mind with little difficulty, and I'm afraid your thoughts are easy to access. You need a lot more work," Eva said apologetically.

"I suspected I would be no good at this," Luna sighed. "I do get very easily distracted, I must admit. Oh, well, I guess I'll have to keep practicing."

"I have a few techniques that will help you," Eva promised. "We'll work at it over the next few days and I'm sure we'll see some improvements by the end of the week."

"Thank you, you're very kind," Luna said, smiling warmly at the large woman.

"It's my job, sweet child," Eva replied, tenderly stroking Luna's dirty-blond hair.

"Perhaps, but I still think you're a kind person. Harry loves you already and he's normally a very good judge of character," she replied.

Eva looked over at Harry in surprise before she broke into a radiant smile. "He is a good judge of people, isn't he?" Eva agreed. "Just look at the people he surrounds himself with when he has any choice in the matter. I liked one of them so much I'm marrying him."

"And I couldn't think of a person I'd rather he married," Harry said resolutely.

"Just as well I put a ring on her finger, then," Sirius laughed. "Right, let's crack on. Luna and Hermione: you're with Eva to practice Occlumency. Harry and Ginny: let's see how your duelling skills are after all that turkey."

Ginny and Harry looked at each other in trepidation. They'd both been slacking off during the holidays and Ginny suspected this session was going to be a rough one. Still, no pain, no gain.

She hoped if she told herself that enough she'd start to believe it.

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"…and that is how Voldemort keeps managing to miraculously return from the dead," Harry explained grimly.

Hermione sat back in her chair with a stunned expression on her face. Just that morning, Eva had declared the girl competent enough at Occlumency for her to be brought fully into the group. The first thing Harry and Ginny had done was bring their friend to the library and explain to her about Voldemort's Horcruxes. While they had previously agreed that they wouldn't tell Hermione absolutely everything, they knew that researching this subject was something she would excel at.

"This is… terrifying," Hermione mumbled at last. "We have to find these hidden objects and we aren't even sure how many of them we have to find for sure? How will we know if we've got them all?"

"We destroy all of the ones we can find and then try and kill Voldemort. If he stays dead then we know we got them all," Ginny shrugged.

"Oh, that will be simple, then," Hermione said sarcastically. "Seriously, that's all the information we have? Are we certain it's even accurate?"

"I'm absolutely certain it's accurate," Harry insisted. "I would tell you where it came from if I could, Hermione, but it's not my secret to tell. Sorry."

Ginny smiled internally at Harry's skilful phrasing. The fact that she retained Tom Riddle's memories was one of the things that they had decided to keep from Hermione for the moment as neither of them was certain how she would react.

"If you're certain, Harry," Hermione said in a voice that made clear that she was far from convinced. "I really don't think we have enough to go on, though. What about the Prophecy?"

"What about it?" Harry asked in puzzlement.

"Could it give us some clue as to how to go about defeating Voldemort?" Hermione suggested.

"I don't know," Harry said frowning. "We've just been working on the assumption that it said something along the lines that I would be the one to fight him. That's why he tried to kill me when I was just a baby."

"But you said earlier that Dumbledore wouldn't tell you the Prophecy because he was worried about Voldemort learning it. That surely means it contains something important," Hermione objected.

"Bloody hell, I didn't think about that," Harry exclaimed in surprise.

"See, this is why we needed you," Ginny said, smiling at her friend. "We tend to miss little details like this."

Hermione returned Ginny's smile, clearly pleased to have been of help. Her face then returned to a look of calm concentration as she tried to puzzle her way through the problem.

"I suppose it's possible that Voldemort only heard part of the Prophecy," she pondered. "Perhaps he heard a bit which identified Harry as his future opponent, but didn't hear the rest of it. That would be logical."

"Yeah, it would explain why he came after me, but Dumbledore is still worried about him hearing the whole thing," Harry agreed. "If we could only find out what the bloody thing says!"

"There must be a way to find out. After all, the Prophecy appears to be about you, Harry, you must have a right to hear it," Hermione pointed out.

"Possibly, but who do we ask? Dumbledore is the only person we know for sure who's heard the whole thing and he flatly refuses to tell me," Harry said, frustration evident on his face.

"Sirius thought there was somewhere in the Ministry that recorded these sorts of things, but he's not had any luck in finding out anything further," Ginny added. "We think prophecies fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Mysteries, and they are very secretive, indeed."

"And it's not like we have any idea who made the Prophecy in the first place," Harry lamented. "I mean, it's not like Trelawney could have done it, is it?"

All three of them sniggered at the very idea.

"I still think the Prophecy is important, but I don't suppose we can do a lot about it for the moment," Hermione acknowledged. She picked up the piece of parchment that contained the notes and ideas that Remus had already come up with regarding the Horcruxes. "Right, so we are looking for five or six objects, probably magical in nature, that will likely have special meaning to Voldemort and could be hidden anywhere?"

"That about sums it up," Ginny agreed.

Hermione sighed. "This is going to end up driving me round the twist, isn't it?" she observed. "I just hope it doesn't interfere with studying for my OWLs this year."

Harry moved over to his friend and, to the surprise of both Hermione and Ginny, he hugged her. "If anyone can figure this out, it's you, Hermione," he said warmly.

"Now I'll definitely have work on this project," Hermione noted. "Especially if Harry's going to keep hugging me like this."

Ginny just smiled.

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The last few days of the Christmas holidays flew by, aided by a very lively New Year's Eve party that Sirius required several days to recover from, and, before they knew it, it was time to return to Hogwarts.

Upon their return to the castle, a special welcome back dinner was laid on in the Great Hall, and Ginny was currently sitting with Harry wondering if she could really manage another huge meal. It was just as well she was doing so much exercise at the moment or Harry would have to start rolling her around the school.

"Ginny, look," Harry said urgently.

"What?" she asked absently while pushing a roast potato around her plate with her fork.

"Hagrid's back," he whispered urgently.

Ginny's head snapped up and there, sitting at the head table, was indeed Hogwarts missing Gamekeeper and Care of Magical Creatures teacher. A wave of apprehension hit her as she looked at him.

"Why don't we visit him at his hut tonight?" Harry suggested. "We could use the excuse of welcoming him back. It might be interesting to try and find out what he's been up to, as well."

"Yeah," Ginny agreed reluctantly. She hated thinking about the events of her first year and if she discovered that they had been avoidable she wasn't sure what she would do.

"I can go by myself, if you want?" Harry offered, picking up on her sudden pensiveness.

"No, I need to do this," Ginny said decisively. "How's your Legilimency coming along?"

"Alright," Harry admitted, "but without a wand I'll only be able to pick up surface thoughts and emotions."

"That should be enough to clue us in if he tries to lie," Ginny noted. "We'll go straight after dinner."

In the end, they had to linger a while as Hagrid appeared to be in no hurry to leave the dinner table. In fact, it looked like the big man hadn't had a decent meal in some time, such was the vast quantities of food he was putting away. Ginny drummed her fingers impatiently as she watched him consume his third whole chicken without pausing.

Eventually, Hagrid ate his fill and lumbered away from the table and out of the hall. Harry and Ginny gave him a five minute head start before they followed after him. They slipped out of the oak front doors and headed towards the outskirts of Forbidden Forrest where Hagrid's hut was located. Once there, they knocked loudly on the door which quickly opened to reveal Hagrid's smiling face.

"Harry! Ginny! Righ' lovely to see yeh both," Hagrid declared.

"We thought we'd come and welcome you back," Harry said.

"Well, that's right kind of the pair of yeh. Come in and I'll stick the kettle on," Hagrid replied, beckoning them in.

Harry sat on the bench which was positioned in front of the huge scrubbed wood table and Ginny sat down right next to him. Almost unconsciously, Harry slipped his arm around her shoulders.

"Hello, hello," Hagrid announced when he caught sight of this. "What's all this, then? Yeh two seem mighty friendly all of a sudden."

"Huh? Oh, that's right; you've been away for so long you don't know that me and Ginny got together," Harry responded.

"Ah, well I'm glad to hear it," Hagrid beamed. "You two were so close last year I though' it would only be a matter of time. And a better suited couple you'd be hard pressed to find, yeh would."

"Thanks. But please, don't compare us to my mum and dad," Harry begged. "I've already had both Sirius and Remus doing that, and I really don't want to think about dating someone who looks like my mother."

"Heavens, no!" Hagrid laughed. "Why little Ginny here don' look a thing like Lily. Lily was tall and had skin as clear as snow, she did."

"While I'm short and freckly?" Ginny noted with a slight edge in her voice.

"Now, I'm not sayin you're not as pretty as a picture, 'cos you are," Hagrid said quickly before laughing. "You're a lot feistier than Lily was, an' all!"

"She's perfect, thank you very much," Harry said defensively. "I can't believe you've been away so long that you didn't know I was dating Ginny. What have you been doing all this time?"

"Ah, can' really talk about that," Hagrid replied apologetically. "Been doin' a job for Professor Dumbledore, I have."

"What sort of job," Harry asked.

"He's been worried the giants might be lured into workin' for You-Know-Who, so he asked me to visit them," Hagrid replied automatically, clearly not realising he'd just talked about the job he wasn't supposed to talk about.

"Did you have any luck?" Ginny asked carefully.

"Nah, not much. They're a right unfriendly bunch are those giants," Hagrid moaned. "Nearly got me head knocked off by one of them. I think we're goin' to have problems with that lot when You-Know-Who returns."

"You're sure he will return, then?" Ginny ventured.

"Dumbledore says he will and that's good enough for me," the big man replied. "Quite why he's so certain I couldn' tell you, but the Headmaster's not often wrong. In fact, I'm a bit surprised you didn't back him up last summer, Harry. You could have done a powerful lot of good if you'd have agreed with the Professor."

"I told the truth," Harry said, a little anger creeping into his voice. "There was no sign of Voldemort when I left that graveyard, so whatever stupid ritual Pettigrew was trying to perform didn't work. Are you saying I should have lied to the press, Hagrid?"

"No, not at all," Hagrid said urgently. "I would never tell you to do somethin' like that, Harry! No, it's just that the Headmaster was so confident that You-Know-Who is all set to make a return there must have been somethin' behind it, mustn't there?"

"If there is, he didn't share it with me," Harry growled.

"So, you must be glad to be back," Ginny interrupted. She could see her boyfriend getting angrier by the moment and was intent on defusing the situation before it got out of hand.

"That I am, Ginny," Hagrid said, clearly glad to be back on a safer topic of conversation. "There's nuthin' like your own bed of a night."

"Will you be taking over your teaching post immediately?" she asked.

"Yeah, and I'm really lookin' forward to it! I've had loads of great ideas for things to show you all. It'll be right interestin', I promise you," the big man beamed.

"I bet all your pets have missed you," Harry said, obviously seeing the direction Ginny was trying to drive the conversation in.

"Oh, yeah! A friend of mine's been looking after Fang for me and I'll go and pick him up tomorrow. I've got a lovely juicy steak waitin' for him, too."

"I bet he'll love that," Harry agreed. "What about Aragog? Do you see him much these days?"

For a second Hagrid looked at Ginny in concern.

"Oh, I told Ginny about Ron and my little adventure in the Forest a few years back. Don't worry, she won't say a thing to anyone about Aragog," Harry assured him.

"My lips are sealed," she promised.

"Ah, you're a good lass, Ginny, and I know you won't go blabbin' your mouth off," Hagrid said, looking more relaxed. "I must admit, I don't get to see much of Aragog these days. His children don' take too much to me and they get all upset when I visit. Still, I must be about due a visit soon. Do you two want to come with me?"

"Err, we wouldn't want to intrude," Harry said rapidly. "Besides, I think his children like me even less than they do you."

"Yeh might be right at that," Hagrid agreed.

"Still, it's a shame though, you not seeing him much," Harry continued. "I mean, you two seem to be very close."

"We are, indeed," Hagrid beamed. "I raised him from just an egg, I did. We've helped each other out of a few tight scrapes in our time, I can tell you."

"I can imagine," Harry agreed. "He got really upset when you were arrested back in my second year. Mind you, I think he was a bit upset about that basilisk being on the loose."

"Oh, my, yes! He got into a right tizzy about it. They can't abide basilisks can spiders. Absolutely hate them, they do," Hagrid agreed. "Mind yeh, not that he would tell it was a basilisk, mind. Won't ever speak the name, will Acromantulas! Bit like us and You-Know-How."

Ginny glanced over at Harry and saw the look of relief on his face. The thought that Hagrid might have inadvertently betrayed them had been weighing heavily on his mind.

"Yeah, twice Aragog told me to stay clear, but I couldn't just clear off, could I? That would be right cowardly. Besides, I don't think it really mattered. As soon as I told Professor Dumbledore that whatever the creature was it had Aragog terrified, he seemed to realise what the monster was. Wonderful wizard, Dumbledore! He assured me that now he'd figured out what was causin' all the trouble, he'd make sure no one would get hurt by that creature and he was right in the end, wasn't he?" Hagrid said amicably.

It was all Ginny could do not to scream in Hagrid's face. No one got hurt? She nearly had her life-force sucked from her and Harry was seconds from dying! How dare Hagrid sit there and blandly say no one was hurt!

"Oh, look at the time," Harry said suddenly. "We'd better head back or we won't make it back to the common room before curfew."

"Well, I don't want the pair of you to get into trouble, so you'd better be off. Right lovely of you to visit, though. Come back anytime," Hagrid said standing and opening the door for them.

"We will. See you soon, Hagrid," Harry replied, obviously struggling to contain his emotions.

Ginny felt herself being guided out the door and into the cold night air. Harry kept a firm hold around her shoulders as he practically marched them away from the hut.

"Are you okay?" he asked eventually after they were some distance away from Hagrid's house.

"He knew," she blurted. "He bloody knew! Dumbledore knew there was a bloody basilisk on the loose and he did bugger all about it! I nearly killed someone, Harry. Hell, you nearly died, yourself. If the Headmaster knew that such a dangerous animal was on the prowl, why didn't he close the school? He had no way of making sure no one would be hurt; what he told Hagrid was complete bollocks."

Harry stopped and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her head to his shoulder.

"It's alright, my darling," he whispered into her ear. "It's all over and no one was killed, mainly because you were so strong."

"But why? Why didn't he stop it," she asked close to tears.

"Lord knows, I've given up trying to understand the mind of Albus Dumbledore," Harry sighed. "Perhaps he was afraid that if the school closed it would never reopen. Or maybe it was some sort of test for me: let's see if the Boy Who Lived is up for killing a basilisk. I don't know."

"Do you think he knew I had the diary?" she asked in a trembling voice.

"I'm not sure, but I don't think so," Harry pondered. "He seemed genuinely concerned when I brought that bloody book to him. I think he suspected Voldemort was somehow behind it all, but didn't know exactly how."

"And why is Dumbledore so certain that Voldemort will return now?" Ginny pressed. "It took him years to recover when he lost his body the first time. Why is he so convinced Voldemort will be back soon?"

"Do you think Dumbledore knows something he's not telling us?" Harry asked in a cold voice.

"I'd put money on it," Ginny replied bitterly.

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If Ginny had been hoping things would improve after the shocking revelation that Dumbledore had known about the basilisk, she was to be sorely disappointed. The next day, she and Harry had made their way down to breakfast as normal, only to find an agitated Hermione already sitting at the Gryffindor table looking at a copy of that morning's Daily Prophet in consternation.

"Oh, there you two are," she said when she caught sight of them. "You really need to see this."

Hermione handed over her newspaper and Harry and Ginny laid it on the table between them so they could both read it at once. The headlines were shocking, to say the least.

_Mass Breakout at Azkaban_

_Sometime yesterday afternoon, a mass breakout of some of the most dangerous criminals known to the Wizarding world occurred from the Ministry facility at Azkaban situated in the North Sea. _

_Exact numbers are not known, but it is believed that between ten and twenty prisoners escaped, including Bellatrix Lestrange and her husband Rodolphus, his brother Rabastan, Antonin Dolohov, Augustus Rookwood and a number of other high security prisoners. _

_It should be noted that all of the known prisoners that escaped were former Death Eaters, leading to speculation that the former followers of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named are active again under a new leader. Readers will recall that last year, Harry Potter, the famous Boy Who Lived, was kidnapped by two other former Death Eaters, Peter Pettigrew and Barty Crouch Jr., reinforcing the idea that this feared group are once again active. _

_The Ministry released a short statement stating that the matter was being given the highest priority and that they were confident that the escapees would soon be recaptured. If spotted, the pubic are urged not to approach any of these highly dangerous criminals and instead contact the Ministry immediately. _

_This escape comes after… _

Ginny stopped reading and glanced over at Harry who was glaring at the newspaper with a furious expression on his face. Realising her boyfriend was close to meltdown, she grabbed his arm and started to pull him out of the Great Hall. Behind her, Ginny heard Hermione scrambling out of her seat and hurrying after them.

Only when she had managed to manoeuvre Harry outside did she halt. Hermione skidded to a stop beside them and cast worried glances at her friends.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with the Ministry?" Harry snapped suddenly. "Can't they do anything right? I thought Azkaban was meant to be lock-tight! How did most of Voldemort's most trusted followers manage to walk right out of the place? What happened to the bloody Dementors?"

"Easy, Harry," Ginny said soothingly. "I'm sure we'll find out more about this from Sirius soon, but if you want my guess, I would say that Voldemort managed to recruit the Dementors onto his side."

"But how?" Harry demanded. "Voldemort is still in spirit form; he doesn't even have a body! How could he even communicate with them?"

"Remember what we were talking about last night? How we thought it was strange that Dumbledore seemed so certain that Voldemort would be coming back sooner rather than later?" she asked hesitantly.

"You think Voldemort has reclaimed his body?" Hermione exclaimed. "But you said it would be years before he would be strong enough to do that again!"

"And so it should be," Ginny insisted. "There's definitely something not right here. I just can't see the other Death Eaters having the power or inclination to pull off a gaol-break like this without Voldemort being involved, but I have no idea how he could have returned so quickly. Harry, has your scar been hurting at all lately?"

Harry frowned. "No, not at all. I've not been having any usual dreams, either."

"I don't know how to explain this," Ginny said with a shrug.

"What do we do in the meantime?" Hermione asked.

"Carry on as we have been doing," Ginny said, "and hope the evil bastard isn't really back."

The three friends looked at each other grimly.


	12. Chapter 12 – Darkness Rises

**Chapter 12 – Darkness Rises **

AN

With no rugby last weekend (and appalling weather to boot) I'm able to provide another super-speedy up-date.

As this is the penultimate chapter of TR2: ABIYH, quite a lot happens. As I have been (very roughly) following canon events, I'm sure you can work out a lot of what I'm going to be covering here. I do, however, finally resolve the mystery of who I'm going to pair Hermione up with, having received 2,567 (slight exaggeration) suggestions that it's Luna.

Huge, grovelling thanks to my beta, Arnel, who I appear to have traumatised with this chapter. No, Arnel, put that pitchfork down!

* * *

The months were passing rapidly and Ginny found herself rushed off her feet. Before she knew it, April had arrived and a form of madness had descended on all the fifth and seventh year pupils. With OWLs and NEWTs only a couple of months away, panic had begun to seep into the minds of those due to take the exams, and none more so then Hermione Granger.

As they all sat in the library studying, Ginny watched in amusement as Hermione continued to berate Harry for not working harder. The fact that her poor boyfriend was working every moment he had available didn't seem to register with the bushy-haired brainbox.

"These exams are vital, Harry. You need to put more effort into your studies," she lectured her put-upon friend.

"Hermione, I can't work any harder," Harry protested. "I barely get a moment to myself as it is, not to mention I haven't had any alone-time with Ginny in weeks."

"Hump! You should be worrying more about your future qualifications and less about what's underneath Ginny's robes, Harry Potter," Hermione scolded him.

Harry's expression clearly said he didn't agree with that idea.

"Perhaps you could take a short break, Harry," Ginny said teasingly. "I'm sure you'll find what I'm _not_ wearing under these robes very stimulating."

"Ginny Weasley! Stop being a strumpet and let Harry concentrate. He needs to re-read this entire chapter on Transfiguration in the next half-an-hour if he's going to have time to start on his Potions revision. Oh, and with all these interruptions I'll never get through my Charms notes this evening! There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day," Hermione wailed.

"Then you need a bit of help," a male voice said from behind them.

They turned and saw a tall, wiry boy with brown hair dressed in Ravenclaw robes. In his hand he held a small brown bottle which he brandished at them.

"This little beauty got me through my OWLs without any problems," the boy said, waving the bottle at them. "I got nine OWLs in total: all outstandings! And I owe it all to this wonderful concoction: Baruffio's Brain Elixir. Guaranteed to get the old grey matter working on overdrive and give you a picture-perfect memory. And you lucky people can have this entire bottle for the miserly sum of five Galleons."

"Brain Elixir? What sort of hogwash is that?" Hermione said indignantly.

"Hey, don't knock it until you've tried it," the boy insisted. "I'm sure you Gryffindors need a bit of a boost for your exams, and this is just the stuff to do it."

"Oh, we NEED a boost, do we?" Hermione said in a dangerous voice. "Why? Do you think all Gryffindors are stupid or something?"

"No, not at all," the boy said apologetically. "It's just that you're not as academically gifted as some, otherwise you would have been placed in Ravenclaw, wouldn't you?"

"You do know that Hermione is top student in her year, Ravenclaws included, don't you?" Harry smirked.

"And what classes Hermione doesn't top, Harry does," Ginny added.

"What? Really? Oh, err, well, a little boost never hurt, did it? I assure you, this stuff is dynamite," the boy insisted.

"Really? What's in it, then? What wonderful ingredient would so miraculously improve our mental abilities?" Hermione demanded.

"I don't know," the boy said defensively. "I didn't brew it, did I?"

"Give it here," Hermione snatched the little bottle from the Ravenclaw and pulled out the cork. She sniffed it thoughtfully for a second. "Hmm, I can smell Glumbumble Fluid and Essence of Horned Slug. Wait a minute, this is a Boil-Curing Potion!"

"How did you know that? Err, I mean, no, it isn't," the boy stammered.

"You're nothing but a con-artist!" Hermione accused him. "I will be informing Professor McGonagall about this immediately."

"Wait! No, please don't do that!" the boy begged.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't? You're little more than a thief," Hermione demanded.

"I'm not proud of trying to sell this stuff," the boy explained in an abject voice as he slumped down onto the seat next to Hermione. "It's just my parents can barely afford the school fees for this place and I'm always on the lookout for ways to try and help. They've sacrificed so much for me and I'm just hoping to get decent NEWT results next year so I can get a good job and pay them back. The second mortgage on our house is crippling them."

Hermione's eyes softened slightly. "Mortgages? Are you Muggleborn, then?" she asked.

"Yes," the boy confirmed. "My dad's a postman and my mum works in the local supermarket, but neither of them take home that much. When they learnt I was magical, they thought it would be a wonderful opportunity for me to study here, but the cost is nearly bankrupting them. I try and help as much as I can, but there aren't exactly a lot of money-making opportunities round here. I tutor some of the younger pupils in Charms and Arithmancy, but that doesn't bring in much. I admit, I thought this would be an easy way to make money and, besides, it only hurts people who are trying to cheat."

"You're Eddie Carmichael, aren't you?" Harry asked. "I've played Quidditch against you, haven't I?"

"Yeah, you have, Potter," Eddie confirmed. "You're a lot better than I am, though. Not that I really stand a chance on one of those rubbish school brooms."

"I'm sorry, Eddie, but I can't let you try and defraud fellow pupils with this fake Potion," Hermione said firmly, although the anger was gone from her voice. "I agree that cheats should never prosper, but this is not the way to go about things."

"I really screwed up trying to pull the wool over your eyes, didn't I?" Eddie said with an ironic grin. "You really know your stuff."

"Thank you," Hermione replied primly.

"I'm not trying to be rude here, but can I ask why such an obviously intelligent girl such as yourself wasn't Sorted into Ravenclaw?" he asked.

"Actually, I asked the Sorting Hat not to," Hermione admitted. "I'd read so much about Professor Dumbledore and I'd wanted to be in the same house as he'd been in."

"Really? As soon as I read about Rowena Ravenclaw in 'Hogwarts: A History' I didn't want to be put anywhere else than Ravenclaw." Eddie admitted. "She was such an amazingly intelligent woman that I just had to try to follow in her footsteps."

"Yes, was a genius, wasn't she?" Hermione admitted. "The moving floor plan she created for Hogwarts is just incredible, isn't it?"

"Absolutely," Eddie agreed enthusiastically, "but that's only a small part of what she achieved! She was the greatest mathematician of her age and just wonderful with Charms. Have you ever read the book about her by Artimus Spalding? It's fantastic."

"No, I haven't, but I'd love to," Hermione admitted.

"I'll lend it to you! It's a brilliant read; some of the things she did are just mind-blowing," he told her eagerly.

"That would be really kind of you," Hermione said happily before her expression hardened. "You will dispose of this bottle of Brain Elixir, won't you?"

"Yes, and the other three bottles I have back in my dorm," he promised. "Err, so what are you studying?"

"Oh, well, I was about to go over my Charm notes," Hermione admitted. "I want to make sure I have the theory behind the Summoning and Banishing Charms clear in my head."

"Yes, they can be a bit confusing, can't they?" Eddie admitted. "I'll tell you how I always remember it; I have this acronym I use that goes like this…"

Ginny felt an elbow gently dig in her ribs and she looked over to see Harry motioning her to follow him. Scooping up her books, Ginny followed her boyfriend who had already packed his things away and was heading out of the library. Neither Hermione nor her new friend appeared to notice them leaving.

Once outside, Harry turned and grinned at her.

"I think we should leave those two alone to get better acquainted, don't you?" he said with a smile.

"They do seem to be hitting it off," Ginny admitted, "but can we trust this Carmichael bloke? He was trying to sell us a dodgy Potion, after all."

"I think he's alright," Harry assured her. "I've heard people talking about him at Quidditch practice and everyone says he's a nice bloke. I think Katie knows him quite well and she always speaks highly of him."

"We have been saying Hermione needs a boy in her life, haven't we?" Ginny admitted. "They certainly seem to have a lot in common and he's not a bad looking bloke, I guess. He could be good for her."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Harry agreed. "Besides, with Hermione occupied it means I can take a break from studying. I believe you made some comments about certain garments being absent from underneath your robes, did you not, Miss Weasley?"

"I believe I did, Mr Potter," Ginny grinned. "Perhaps if you would care to accompany me to the Room of Requirement I will let you discover what those items might be."

"That sounds positively spiffing," Harry said, pulling her close. "Do you know how much I've missed being alone with you lately?"

"Then let's not waste any more time," she decided and together they hurried off in the direction of the Room of Requirement.

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Two weeks later, Ginny found herself back in the Room of Requirement undertaking a more arduous task, namely that of continuing their relentless training. Even that had its benefits, however.

Currently, she was squatting on a floor mat performing her warming-up stretches. While she knelt down with her left leg extended to stretch her calf muscles, she had the perfect opportunity to observe her boyfriend as he performed his own warm-up routine.

During the Christmas holidays, Sirius had again taken Harry out to do some more clothes shopping and he had taken the opportunity to purchase some new gym wear. Harry was currently resplendent in a black sports vest and a pair of shorts that left little to the imagination. To be honest, Ginny thought it was unfair of him to wear such an outfit when she was trying to concentrate, not that she complained too much, of course.

Harry glanced up and noticed her looking at him. He winked at her and made a show of flexing his muscles for her benefit. Ginny instantly decided that she and Harry would have to stay behind after their regular training finished and undertake a 'specialist' workout. She was sure both Hermione and Luna would be agreeable to leaving a little early…

Thinking of her friends suddenly made Ginny realise that Luna was extremely late for their training session. Despite having some rather peculiar habits, the Ravenclaw girl was unfailingly punctual. Ginny frowned.

"Where's Luna?" she asked.

"Oh, I forgot to say," Hermione said from the mat where she was performing her own stretches. "Umbridge wanted to speak to her. She warned me that she might be a bit late during dinner."

"What did Umbridge want with…" Harry started to ask but he was interrupted by the door swinging open and the missing girl entering. Ginny took one look at her and knew something was wrong.

"Sorry I'm late," Luna said in her usual light and cheerful voice. The effect was ruined by the tears running down her cheeks and the way she held her right hand as if in pain.

"Luna, what happened?" Ginny cried leaping up and running over to the girl.

"Oh, Madam Umbridge gave me detention," Luna replied, trying to smile through her tears.

"What did that ugly bitch do to you?" Harry demanded.

"What's wrong with your hand?" Hermione asked as they all crowded round the crying girl.

"I was made to do lines," Luna explained, "but Madam Umbridge made me use the most extraordinary quill. It did this."

Luna held out her hand, the back of which was red and bloody. It looked like someone had tried to scratch a message into the poor girl's skin.

"A blood quill!" Ginny gasped. "I heard that evil cow had used one on Ministry workers, but I never dreamed that she would dare use one on a pupil here."

"Hold on, Luna," Hermione said. "I've got some Murtlap Essence in my bag I keep in case of injuries. That should help."

Hermione rushed over to her schoolbag and retrieved a small brown bottle. She hurried back to her friend and began to lightly dab the pungent liquid on Luna's injured hand.

"Oh, that does feel much better. Thank you, Hermione," Luna said appreciatively,

"But why? Why did Umbridge do this to you?" Harry demanded.

"Apparently she was rather unhappy with some of the articles that were published in The Quibbler recently. They weren't very complimentary about the Ministry, you know. The strange thing is that I didn't write them. I tried to explain that, but Umbridge didn't seem very interested," Luna explained.

"This crosses the line," Harry declared. "I was willing to put up with that revolting bitch while she kept Dumbledore distracted, but I won't stand for this."

"You're right," Ginny agreed, her voice betraying her fury at her friend's injury. "It's time to take the ugly toad down."

"I've got my communication mirror in my bag," Harry told them. "I think I need to give Sirius a call. It's time to put the toad in a hole."

Ginny smiled.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Breakfast the next morning was proving to be a tense affair. Ginny was looking around her, nervously, as if she was expected something to happen at any moment.

"Relax," Harry whispered soothingly into her ear. "Sirius said it might take a while to get everything in place. We don't want to rush into this and spoil everything, do we?"

"No, but it just annoys me to see that fat cow sitting up there without a care in the world," she growled back. Umbridge was indeed sitting at the teachers table, apparently enjoying her breakfast.

"I agree with Ginny," Hermione huffed. "That woman should be behind bars for what she did to Luna."

"Trust me, Hermione, I feel the same way. It's all I can do to stop myself from leaping up and hexing her, but we have to trust Sirius. He said he would take care of this, and he and Tonks are in a far better position to take action than we are," Harry insisted.

"Good grief, do my ears deceive me? Could it be that Harry Potter is actually prepared to let someone else handle a problem and not just blindly rush in himself?" Hermione teased.

"Perhaps I'm growing up," Harry admitted with an ironic smile. "Not that I like the idea much."

Whatever comment Hermione was going to make died on her lips as suddenly a group of Aurors marched purposely into the Great Hall and up to the teachers table. Instantly, the hall was silent as every person present watched attentively to see why the Aurors had so unexpectedly arrived.

"Auror Shacklebolt, what a pleasant surprise," Dumbledore announced as he stood to greet his unanticipated guests. "What can I do for you?"

"It's not you that we've come to see," the tall, dark-skinned Auror said purposefully. "We've come for Dolores Umbridge."

The toad-faced woman looked up in surprise. "Oh, am I required back at the Ministry?" she enquired.

"Dolores Umbridge, I am arresting you for aggravated assault on eleven Ministry workers, the possession of an illegal torture devise and on suspicion of assault on a minor," Shacklebolt declared in a cold voice.

Gasps were heard throughout the hall.

"What ridiculous rubbish is this?" Umbridge screeched. "Don't you know who I am?"

"Yes, I do. That's why I'm arresting you," Shacklebolt sneered. "Now, do we have a Luna Lovegood in the hall?"

Luna stood up without hesitation and waved happily at the Aurors. One of the Aurors approached her.

"Can I see the back of your hand please, young lady?" the Auror asked.

Luna held out her hand without argument. From where Ginny was sitting she could clearly see the Auror's face flush with anger.

"It's true, sir," the Auror announced, turning back towards his colleagues. "This girl has had a blood quill used on her!"

"What?" Dumbledore roared in anger, but Shacklebolt motioned him to silence.

"Well, Umbridge, what have you to say for yourself?" Shacklebolt demanded.

"You're mad," Umbridge spat. "That girl is a lunatic. She probably did that to herself."

Further conversation was halted by the arrival into the hall of another Auror, this one instantly recognisable to Ginny.

"I've found it, sir!" Tonks announced as she approached the head table. "A blood quill! I discovered it hidden in Madam Umbridge's quarters."

"Lies!" Umbridge shouted. "Wait until the Minister hears about these ludicrous allegations. You'll all be sacked on the spot."

"The Minister IS aware of the allegations," Shacklebolt told her. "He has seen the eleven written statements provided by your victims stating that you forced them to use this quill or they would be sacked. There were other less savoury accusations as well, but I don't think I should mention those in a room full of children."

"They're all lying!" Umbridge yelled. "They're all jealous of me! None of this will stand up in court."

"On the contrary, the women in question have all provided their full co-operation and provided their statements while under the effects of Veritaserum," Shacklebolt informed her smugly. "I wonder what you'll have to say when we use it on you?"

Umbridge snarled and pulled out her wand. She waved it unsteadily at the Aurors.

"Oh, please do try something!" Tonks said with evident pleasure. "Nothing would make me happier than if you try to resist arrest."

"Stay back! I'll curse you," Umbridge warned.

"Don't be stupid, Umbridge," Shacklebolt growled.

"I warn you, I'm a formidable witch!" Umbridge cried.

"_Expelliarmu_s_!_" cried a voice making Ginny jump, although she was half-expecting it. She glanced around to see Harry on his feet with his wand pointed at Madam Umbridge. Ginny smiled as the ugly woman's wand sailed through the air and landed in Harry's outstretched hand.

"Madam Umbridge, how could you?" Harry said angrily. "We trusted you to make Hogwarts a better place, and this is how you go about it? By torturing pupils? And for what reason? Luna is a good friend of mine, why did you do this dreadful thing to her?"

"Oh, she wasn't happy about an article daddy wrote in The Quibbler," Luna piped up. "I told her it wasn't anything to do with me, but she wouldn't listen."

"You vile, despicable woman!" Harry raged. "You assault a young girl because of something her father wrote in the free press? You're a monster! We were making such headway in making this school a better place; I just hope you haven't undermined that good work with your appalling behaviour. I'm sure the Minister was unaware of your activities, but I trust he will be taking the appropriate action and make sure you're locked up for good! I'll be writing to him immediately demanding action."

Shacklebolt approached the spot where Harry was standing and held out his hand. "I'm in complete agreement with you, Mr Potter, but if you'd be so kind, could you hand me Madam Umbridge's wand?"

"Of course, Auror… Shacklebolt, was it?" Harry asked and received a confirming nod. Harry handed the wand over. "Please forgive me for intervening like that, but I was so outraged that one of my friends had been assaulted that I just had to act. Please accept my apologises."

"That's alright, Mr Potter," Shacklebolt grinned. "Nice Disarming Spell, by the way. Have you ever thought about a career with the Aurors when you leave school?"

"I haven't really decided what I want to do yet," Harry admitted, "but I'm honoured that you would consider me for your profession."

"We're always on the lookout for good wizards," Shacklebolt confirmed with a smile. "Right, let's get the prisoner back to the Ministry. Miss Lovegood, would you be so kind as to accompany us so you can give an official statement? We'll get in contact with your father immediately, of course."

"I'd love to," Luna confirmed with a dreamy smile. She accompanied the Aurors as they dragged a sobbing Madam Umbridge out of the hall, pausing only to wink in Harry and Ginny's direction.

The three remaining friends grinned at each other and, unnoticed in the chaos that erupted following the Auror's departure, stood and quietly walked outside.

"That went perfectly!" Hermione declared happily once they had found a private spot. "Honestly, Umbridge played straight into our hands."

"I nearly messed up that bloody speech, though," Harry huffed. "I nearly forgot that bit about contacting Fudge."

"You didn't, though," Ginny said, giving him a quick hug. "You were brilliant! I guarantee that tomorrow's papers will have an article about how you disarmed a dangerous criminal and demanded Ministry action to punish her."

"Yes, that was a wonderful added bonus: Umbridge pulling out her wand. I really didn't think she'd be so stupid," Hermione said in disbelief. "I mean, threatening to curse four fully trained Aurors. Not to mention having Dumbledore standing a few feet away."

"Did you see Dumbledore's face?" Ginny giggled. "He stood there like a lemon while Harry took action and made a rousing speech! I bet the papers pick up on that."

"Well, The Quibbler will, for sure," Hermione chuckled. "Especially after we give Luna a hand writing the article."

"Yeah, that will probably help," Harry laughed. "We'll have the press in such an uproar that Fudge won't dare try and cover this up."

"It's too late for him to do that, anyway," Ginny said sagely. "No, he knows that his best course is to hang the toad out to dry. I bet he'll be Umbridge's harshest critic from this point onwards."

"All in all, a good morning's work," Hermione announced smugly. "But enough about that now. We'd better get to class."

"Yeah, just as well none of us has Defence next," Harry smirked.

The three friends made their way back towards the castle when movement from some bushes caught their eye. Quickly pulling out their wands, they cautiously edged forward to investigate. As they approached, a familiar face peered out from around the leaves.

"Oh, it's you," Harry said, lowering his wand. "What do you want?"

"He's going to make his move tomorrow morning," the boy hissed at them.

Harry, Ginny and Hermione all looked at each other with a worried expression.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Ginny tried desperately to maintain her concentration, but it wasn't easy. Just a few feet away, a naked Harry was lathering his wet body with soap and it made it very hard for her to keep her eyes on the bathroom door. Mentally, she promised herself a shared bath with her boyfriend if they managed to deal with this latest problem without difficulties.

Her attention was suddenly diverted by the door stealthily opening and her brother Ron entering the room. Despite Neville's warning, she hadn't really believed that Ron would be so stupid as to attempt this, but clearly she was wrong. She shifted her position underneath Harry's Invisibility Cloak and carefully aimed her wand.

Ron had just taken aim with his own wand at Harry's unprotected back when she struck. Her Body-Bind Curse hit her brother squarely in the chest and his arms and legs snapped together instantly. Harry shut the water off and grabbed a dressing gown that had been hanging on a hook nearby, as Ginny slipped off the Invisibility Cloak. She could see Ron's eyes grow wide with fear and surprise as she approached.

"Hello, Ron," she said, her voice as cold as ice. "Planning on hexing Harry in the back? How cowardly of you."

"What's that he's got in his hand?" Harry asked, pointing at the small bag that was dangling from Ron's left hand. He reached out and pulled it from his former-friend's fingers and opened it.

"What's in there?" Ginny asked.

"A vial and a knife," Harry replied in puzzlement.

"What the hell does he want with those? Unless… _Legilimens!_" she cried, again pointing her wand at her brother. She entered his mind and was truly appalled at what she found there. A second later, she cancelled the Body-Bind Curse and before her brother could react, she punched him as hard as she could in the face. Ron hit the floor with his nose bleeding and a stream of curses coming from his mouth. He angrily started to rise, but found himself facing two wands pointed directly at his face.

"Go and get Hermione and Luna," Ginny instructed her boyfriend. "They should hear this."

Harry glanced worriedly at her and looked as if he was going to argue, but then he changed his mind and walked out the door. A few moments later, he returned with the two girls in tow.

"I always wondered what it looked like in here," Luna said while glancing around. "It's just like our bathrooms, really. A bit smellier, though."

"It seems my dear brother here has a master plan for discrediting Harry," Ginny announced, ignoring Luna's comments. "Would you like to explain, Ron?"

Her brother just glared at her from his position on the floor.

"No? Well, let me explain, then. It appears Ron arranged for this dorm room to be empty so he could ambush Harry and take some of his blood."

"What?" Hermione exclaimed. "Why would he want to do that?"

"Oh, it appears Ron has been listening to some idle gossip, haven't you brother dear? Gossip that has come straight from the lips of Draco Malfoy!" Ginny spat.

"So, what if it did come from him? It's all bloody true! I've seen the Birth Certificate," Ron yelled.

"Would someone please explain to me what this is about?" Harry demanded.

"It appears Ron is under the impression that James Potter was not your father, Harry," Ginny explained.

"What?" Harry gasped.

"It's true!" Ron crowed. "Lily Potter was a Muggle whore who slept around! Malfoy managed to get a copy of Potter's birth certificate and it lists some Muggle bloke I've never heard of as the father. Harry isn't a Potter! He's just some dirty Muggle-born who has stolen the name of a distinguished pure-blood family. I tell you, when this gets out your reputation will be ruined, Potter, or whatever your real name is!"

"But why were you trying to take my blood?" Harry demanded, his face flushed with anger.

"To prove you're not a true Potter, of course. People could claim the certificate was a fake, but no one could argue with a proper blood test," Ron said triumphantly.

"You bloody moron," Ginny snapped and stomped out of the bathroom. She hurried over his Harry's bed and opened up his trunk. She soon found what she was looking for and headed back to the bathroom.

"Look at this, Ron," Ginny demanded, thrusting Harry's photo album under her brother's nose. "Look at the picture of James Potter there!"

"Yeah, I see it. So what?" Ron snorted.

"Now look at Harry. Notice any similarities?" Ginny spat.

"Err—" Ron mumbled suddenly looking a great deal less confident.

"What is the first thing anyone who knew Harry's parents says about him when they see him for the first time? How much he looks just like his dad! Didn't this little detail register in your thick head?" Ginny nearly screamed.

"But the birth certificate," Ron protested.

"It was a fake!" Ginny yelled in exasperation. "Honestly, when did you start trusting Draco Malfoy? It's the easiest thing in the word to knock-up an authentic looking certificate, but the real one, in case you didn't know, can be viewed by anyone at the Ministry's Records Department. Bearing in mind how much publicity Harry's had over the years, don't you think someone would have noticed his dad wasn't who he claimed by now?"

"But— I don't understand," Ron said blankly.

Ginny snatched up the discarded vial that was lying on the floor. "This was what it was all about. It was an attempt to obtain some of Harry's blood by force!"

"But why, if it wasn't to discredit him?" Ron demanded.

"Voldemort wants it," Harry said in a cold voice. "That was why I was entered into the Triwizard Tournament last year and why I was kidnapped at the end of it. Voldemort was trying to return and was attempting a ritual to regain his body which involved taking my blood. We just managed to prevent it last time, but you just nearly did Voldemort's dirty work for him."

"But I—" Ron stuttered.

"Think about it, Ron," Ginny snapped. "You nearly handed Voldemort the means to return! Were you hoping the Death Eaters would give you a medal or something?"

"I never— I— I didn't know!" Ron protested.

"But you still blindly followed the suggestions of Draco Malfoy, didn't you?" Hermione accused him. "And for what? Just so you could make embarrass someone who until recently was your best friend. You disgust me, Ronald Weasley!"

"Think about how many people could have been killed if Voldemort managed to return?" Harry growled. "Just think about it, and remember, your own family is on his hit list. Would you have been satisfied when the Burrow is a burning ruin and your parents are lying dead on the ground? Or your brothers? Or Ginny?"

"I didn't know!" Ron bellowed. "I just— it can't be true. It just can't."

Ron lowered his head and his breathing became ragged, like he was trying to fight back tears. Ginny had no sympathy.

"What do we do with him?" Luna asked.

"We'll have to inform Professor McGonagall about this," Hermione decided.

"No, wait, please! I'll be expelled. I won't have a chance of getting a decent job without qualifications," Ron begged.

"Is that all you're worried about?" Ginny snarled. "You're nearly responsible for bringing back the most evil Dark Lord the world has seen in centuries, and all you can worry about is your job prospects? Well, let me tell you something! Everyone is going to know what you did, Ronald, including Mum and Dad. Being expelled is the least of your problems, you'll be lucky if you don't end up in Azkaban."

"No!" Ron gasped. "I didn't mean any harm. No one was meant to get hurt!"

"You didn't mean any harm? You tried to bring shame on Harry's family, you git!" Ginny raged. "You were so blinded by your irrational anger and stupid jealousy that you nearly made a colossal mistake. What, did Malfoy pay you to do this?"

"I would never accept money from him!" Ron yelled indignantly.

"Maybe not, but you'd let your temper blind you to the fact that you were being used by him. You really are an idiot, aren't you?" Ginny sneered.

"I made a mistake, okay? I'm sorry! But it's not like you never made a stupid mistake, is it? Does a certain diary ring any bells?" Ron retorted.

Before Ginny could even react, Harry had lunged forward and punched Ron squarely in the face. The redhead was knocked backwards and Ginny saw him spit out one of his teeth. All the physical exercise Harry had undertaken had definitely built up his strength.

"How dare you talk to your sister like that" Harry snarled. "How dare you compare what she went through with your own selfish mistakes!"

"Forget him, Harry," Ginny said sternly. "He's not my brother. Hell, I don't even recognise him as a Weasley anymore. When the rest of the family learn what he's done I wouldn't be surprised if he was disinherited."

Something approaching panic appeared on Ron's battered face. "Wait!" he cried. "I can help make amends. I know stuff that can help you."

"Like what?" Ginny sneered.

"When I was at Malfoy Manor one day I overheard something…" Ron began.

"You were at Malfoy's house? I bloody knew it!" Harry yelled angrily.

"Yeah, but just hear me out, okay?" Ron begged. "While I was waiting for Draco one day, I overheard his father talking to someone in another room. They were saying something about a prophecy."

The eyebrows of the four friends all nearly reached their hairlines in shock.

"Yeah, that's right," Ron confirmed, clearly pleased to have got a reaction. "They were saying how this prophecy would discredit Harry once and for all and they needed to find out what it said. I asked Draco about it later and he said I needed to forget about it. But just a couple of days ago, Draco came to me and said that I needed to get that blood sample from Harry as soon as possible because his father was about to gain access to this prophecy. Apparently, it's being kept in a room in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic. I needed to get the blood sample now so they could go to the press with all the evidence in one go. I got the impression that Malfoy was going to get his hands on it any day now."

"Is this true?" Hermione asked harshly.

"Yeah, I swear!" Ron promised.

"Ron, look into my eyes," Ginny commanded.

"What? Why?" he asked nervously.

"_Legilimens!_" Ginny cried and again forced her way into her brother's mind. She quickly found what she was looking for and withdrew.

"It's true," she confirmed. "He was at Malfoy Manor and did overhear it by accident. What he said about Draco was true, also."

"This changes everything. We need to get to that prophecy before Malfoy," Harry insisted.

"Perhaps, but I don't think we should discuss it with Ron here," Ginny noted. "Ron, we're going to let you go for the moment, but don't think this is the end of it by a long chalk. We just don't have time to deal with this right now. If Draco asks why you didn't get the blood just tell him you were interrupted and didn't get the chance. Tell him you'll try again tomorrow, got it?"

"Yeah, I understand," Ron nodded in agreement.

"Oh, and Ron? If you breathe a word of what really happened here to that Slytherin git, I swear that I will rip your balls off and shove them down your throat. Understand?" she growled.

"Ye… yeah," Ron gulped. He then leapt to his feet and practically ran from the bathroom.

The second he left Ginny felt her face crumble and tears came to her eyes. "I can't believe Ron would betray us like that," she sobbed.

Harry hurried over and took her into his arms.

"It's okay, love," he said soothingly. "He didn't have any idea what he was really doing. He was just trying to embarrass me, not hurt your family."

"Yes, as much as I hate to admit it, Ronald's actions were just stupid, not actually evil," Hermione agreed. "He just never could move past his jealousy, could he?"

"I think he's just realised what his actions could have resulted in," Luna added. "I suspect he'll do a lot of soul searching in the next few days."

"By the way, Luna, how did you manage to get into the Gryffindor common room?" Harry asked curiously.

"Oh, I come in here all the time. I've visited the Hufflepuff common room, too; it's very cosy," Luna admitted before frowning. "I've never visited the Slytherin one, though. I'm generally able to figure out their passwords, but they're usually so offensive I never want to repeat them."

"Focus, people!" Hermione snapped. "What are we going to do about Malfoy and the prophecy?"

"We've got to get to the Ministry before Malfoy does," Harry exclaimed. "Ginny and I can both Apparate so we'll take you both with us and…"

"Harry," Ginny interrupted. "You're backsliding again."

"What?" he asked in confusion.

"It's very noble to want to charge off and save the prophecy, but also very stupid. I don't believe for a second that Ron 'accidentally' overheard Malfoy speaking, and why would Draco confirm it later? No, I think this is a trap," Ginny pondered.

"A trap? Do you think they're trying to capture Harry again?" Hermione asked.

"Doubtless, but they probably want to find out what the whole prophecy says, too," Ginny said.

"So what do we do about it?" Luna asked.

"We do what we do best: we make a plan and turn the tables on those Slytherin gits. This coming Saturday is a Hogsmeade visit and we should be able to slip away easily then. That will give us a couple of days to plan."

"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed in disappointment.

"Sorry, Hermione, I know you had plans with a certain Ravenclaw…" Ginny teased.

"That's alright, I'm sure Eddie will understand. He's a very understanding person, you know," Hermione said with a small smile.

"He is," Luna agreed. "He's got a very nice bum, too."

"Yes, he— Luna! Will you stop talking about my new boyfriend's anatomy, please," Hermione huffed.

"Why? Isn't it worth talking about?" Luna asked in puzzlement.

Harry and Ginny both laughed at the indignant expression that came onto Hermione's face.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"Good morning, I'm here to take these two to the Apparation Testing Centre," Sirius said, smiling at the Security Wizard in a friendly manner.

"Bit young, aren't they? There's no way these two are of age," the guard noted suspiciously.

Ginny resisted the temptation to roll her eyes and did her best to maintain a calm exterior.

"While they might need to be seventeen to obtain an Apparation Licence, they can take the test anytime," Sirius replied, his voice taking on a definite edge.

"Alright, alright, keep your hair on," the guard muttered. "Please present your wands for inspection."

The three of them handed over their wands to the guard without argument. It was only after he handed Harry back his wand did it click in the Ministry worker's mind who he was talking to.

"Blimey! You're Harry Potter!" the man exclaimed.

"Quiet!" Sirius hissed. "We don't want this visit to turn into fiasco. Keep your voice down."

"Oh, sorry, sir," the guard said contritely.

"Eric," called a voice from behind them. "This is the party from the German Ministry of Magic that I told you about yesterday. Is it alright to take the envoy and her family straight through?"

"No problem, Mr Weasley, sir," the Guard replied. "It's all been cleared. You can carry on."

From the corner of her eye, Ginny could see her brother leading a small group past the Security Stand and through to the main part of the Ministry Atrium. The German envoy was a large woman who apparently spoke little English, judging by the fact she required a younger, smaller woman to translate for her. A rather care-worn man with a droopy moustache followed, leading two young girls, the envoy's daughters judging by their similar hair colour, although one of the girls had long, straight hair while the other one's was very bushy. Ginny fought down a smile as the group disappeared into the depths of the Ministry.

"Sorry about that, sir," the guard said, after returning his attention to Sirius. "It's right busy in here for a Saturday, it is."

"So I see," Sirius nodded. "Are we okay to continue?"

"Of course, sir. The Apparation Test Centre is on level six," the guard supplied.

With a friendly nod, Sirius led Harry and Ginny towards the lifts. Just before they reached them, a mousey, blond girl intercepted them.

"Mr Black? Ah, so glad I caught you. I'm afraid your godson's Apparation Test has been put back until eleven. To save a little time, I've brought you the application forms so they can be completed while you wait," the witch said.

"Why, thank you, Miss," Sirius said graciously, accepting a manila folder from the witch. "As we have a little time to kill I might as well take these two on a tour of the Ministry. You've been most helpful."

"Not at all," the witch replied before hurrying off.

The three of them continued towards the lifts. Once the doors had closed the teenagers looked expectantly at Sirius.

"Well, did she get it?" Harry demanded.

Sirius had opened the folder and was rifling through the sheets of paper contained inside. He held one up triumphantly.

"Yes, Audrey came through for us. One map of the Department of Mysteries and instructions how to get in," Sirius announced.

"Percy had better marry that girl. I'll knock his head in if he loses her," Ginny declared.

"Yes, she is definitely worth her weight in gold, isn't she?" Sirius agreed. "Right, I think we've given enough time for the others to get in place, let's head to level nine."

The lift very quickly shuddered to a halt and the doors opened to reveal a stark, bare corridor that led to a plain black door. As they approached it, the door it swung open and they hurried through it. On the other side, they found themselves in a large, black circular room that had a dozen unmarked, handless doors around it. As soon as they closed the door behind them, the room started to revolve rapidly until they had no idea which was the door they had entered through.

"Apparently these doors are voice activated, according to the instructions Audrey gave us," Sirius noted, squinting at the piece of paper in his hand. "We have to go to the 'Time Room' first and that will lead to the 'Hall of Prophecy'."

"Okay, let's try it," Harry suggested. "Time Room!"

As soon as Harry spoke, a door to the left swung open. Grinning, the three of them hurried through the open doorway and found themselves in a room filled from top to bottom with clocks of all shapes and sizes. At Sirius's urging, they refrained from exploration and pressed onwards. They hurried down a narrow corridor lined with desks until they found another door at the end. It opened with the slightest of touches.

They found themselves in at a vast, cold chamber which was filled with countless rows of towering shelves. On each of the shelves were hundreds of small, dusty, glass orbs about the size of a cricket ball. Sirius consulted his instructions again.

"Apparently, we need to find row ninety-seven," he informed them. "I must say, I'm surprised Audrey managed to get all this information. I couldn't find out a blessed thing when I tried."

"Remember, Audrey works in the Finance section," Ginny reminded him. "It's amazing what some people will do to keep the person in charge of their paycheque sweet."

"You're probably right," Sirius acknowledged. "Either that or she had some juicy blackmail material on one of the Unspeakables. Anyway, onwards my brave fellows!"

They had just started to work their way down one of the rows when Harry suddenly yelped and pressed his hand to his forehead. Ginny looked at him in concern.

"Harry, what's wrong?" she asked in alarm.

"Just for a second, I got this sharp pain in my scar," he said, gritting his teeth. "The last time it was this bad was back in the graveyard. Oh, it seems to be fading… that's it. I'm okay now."

"I think we better press on as fast as we can," Sirius said in a worried voice.

Harry and Ginny both nodded and they continued down the row as fast as they could. At the end, they turned right and started counting the row numbers until they found the one they were looking for.

"Here it is: row ninety-seven," Sirius announced. "What we're after should just be down here."

"I've found it!" Ginny announced after a short search. On a high shelf, much higher than she could reach, was a yellowing label that read:

S.P.T to A.P.W.B.D

Dark Lord

And (?) Harry Potter

"S.P.T?" Harry pondered. "Could that be Sibyll Trelawney, perhaps?"

"You're joking!" Ginny snorted. "Well, at least that explains why Dumbledore keeps the old bat around."

"Yeah, I guess so. Still, this is what we came for…" Harry said, reaching up and closing his fingers around the dusty ball. Carefully, he picked it up and cradled it to his chest.

"Very good, Potter. Now turn around slowly and give that to me," said a polished voice from nearby.

Ginny looked up to see a dozen robed figures emerge from the darkness. In the lead was Lucius Malfoy, a smug, superior smile on his face and his hand outstretched.

"Oh, my!" Ginny exclaimed in a fake little-girl voice. "It's a trap! We would never have guessed that would happen in a million years!"

Harry and Sirius both sniggered.

"Think this is funny, do you?" Malfoy sneered. "Give me the prophecy and I'll let you live."

"Just kill them and take it! You always did talk too much, Lucius," a female snarled at Malfoy.

"Why, I do believe it's my dear cousin, Bellatrix!" Sirius cried. "I thought you were still holidaying at sunny Azkaban, my dear. How delightful you could make it."

"Still as cocky as ever, eh, Sirius?" Bellatrix replied with a cruel leer on her face. "We'll see if you're still so arrogant as we torture these two brats right in front of you. The little girl first, I think."

"Oh, no! The nasty, evil woman threatened me," Ginny wailed unconvincingly. "I think I shall faint with fear!"

"You'll be laughing on the other side of your face in a minute, you little bitch," Bellatrix growled. "I'm going to rip your intestines out and feed them to the rats while you watch."

"Yuck, Azkaban really messed you up, didn't it?" Ginny noted in disgust.

"Sadly, she was already like that before she was imprisoned," Sirius noted calmly. "I think she was dropped on her head as a baby and it knocked something loose."

"ENOUGH!" shouted Malfoy. "You are outnumbered three-to-one and have no chance of summoning help. Give me the prophecy now or face the consequences."

"See, the problem with these evil Death Eater types is that they have no imagination," Sirius declared. He then slid a two-way mirror out of his jacket pocket and spoke into it. "Whenever you're ready, Percy."

Abruptly, an ear-shattering siren sounded at sufficient volume that all the glass balls on the shelves started to shake. It was followed by a booming announcement that echoed through the hall.

"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! THE MINISTRY HAS BEEN BREACHED!"

The assembled Death Eaters looked around them in fear and surprise.

"You'll regret doing that, Black!" Malfoy spat.

"I seriously doubt it," Sirius said smugly. "Oh, by the way, somebody apparently tipped off the Aurors that there would be a protest about elven rights today, so consequently there are rather more of them on duty than normal. Still, I'm sure you'll find that out for yourselves. And in the meantime, I'd like to say one more thing… bye!"

Sirius hurled a bottle of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder that he'd slipped out of his pocket to the floor and immediately the whole area was area was encased in an impenetrable blackness. Sirius had started to head back the way they had come, while Harry and Ginny grabbed his jacket and were therefore able to follow him as he started to move.

A few seconds later, they emerged from the end of the row into the comparatively bright light. Behind them, Ginny could hear the Death Eaters yelling at each other in confusion and noticed that one idiot had decided to start firing curses about.

"Stop that!" she heard the panicky voice of Lucius Malfoy yell, but judging by the sound of what she assumed was some of the racks collapsing, the warning had come too late.

"Come on, we need to head back to the Rotating Room," Sirius told them, his glee at the chaos he had caused evident on his face.

The three of them broke into a run as they headed back the way they had come. Pretty soon, they had made their way back through the Time Room and were standing in the Rotating Room.

"Death Chamber!" Sirius cried and the room briefly spun around before coming to a shuddering halt. A door to their immediate left swung open and they ran to it.

"Should we wait at the threshold, or is that too obvious?" Harry asked.

"I think we'll have to," Sirius decided. "They're clearly in a bit of a panic and not thinking straight. They might decide that escape is their only option and just ignore an open door even if they think we've gone through it."

"So, we'll have to act as bait, right?" Ginny said.

"Well, I do anyway," Sirius told her. "You two get in position and get ready to spring our trap. The others should be in place by now."

"We're not going to…" Harry started to say, however was interrupted by the sight of one of the Death Eaters barrelling out of a door on the far side of the Rotating Room.

"They're here! We've got them!" the Death Eater cried to someone behind him.

"And I think that's our signal to run," Sirius yelled and pushed the two teenagers before him.

The three of them entered the Death Chamber which proved to be a large, rectangular room which was dimly lit. They sprinted down a set of stone steps that were positioned between descending rows of benches. Behind them, Ginny could hear their pursuers had entered the room and were running after them.

They soon reached the pit in the centre of the room, despite a few wayward spells flying over their heads. They headed towards a crumbling stone archway and squatted down behind it. Ginny glanced at the archway and shuddered. A tattered black curtain hung from the arch and fluttered as if moving in the wind, despite no breeze stirring in the chamber. She was certain she could hear ghostly voices coming from behind the veil.

"They're trapped! We've got them," a Death Eater cried triumphantly as he reached the floor of the pit and halted. His companions soon joined him and formed a rough semi-circle around the archway. Lucius Malfoy made his way to the front of the group with Bellatrix at his side.

"This foolish game is over," Malfoy declared. "For the last time, hand over the prophecy!"

"Now!" Sirius yelled and the three of them each shot a spell at the floor, triggering the Portable Swamp that Percy had placed there that very morning. Instantly, the Death Eaters found themselves up to their thighs in clinging, sticky mud and unable to move.

The second the swamp was activated, spells began to rain down on the unfortunate Death Eaters, Disarming or Stunning them. From their previously hidden positions, Eva, Audrey, Luna, Hermione, Remus and Percy brought down a withering barrage of spells on the heads of the trapped Death Eaters, who were scythed down.

Unfortunately, two of the Death Eaters were still free. Lucius and Bellatrix were standing sufficiently far enough away from their comrades that they weren't caught when the swamp was activated. They scrambled forward and advanced with their wands in their hands and murder in their eyes.

"You two concentrate on Malfoy; Bellatrix is mine," Sirius snarled and immediately sent a Cutting Curse at his cousin, who just managed to dodge in time.

This is what they had been training for months for, and Ginny couldn't have wished for a more appropriate foe as Malfoy. This was the man who had planted Riddle's diary on her, and she was determined to make him pay. With practiced precision, she and Harry edged away from each other forcing Malfoy to split his attention between them.

"_Crucio!" _Malfoy yelled, sending the curse towards Ginny. She desperately managed to scramble away from it just in time, but even so a sharp jolt of pain lanced through her leg as she was partially hit. She screamed in agony as she fell.

"_Confrigo!" _Harry bellowed.

Malfoy's choice of spell had proved a poor one, as using the Unforgivable had forced him to direct all his attention to Ginny and thus left his back exposed. Harry's Blasting Curse hit him squarely on the left shoulder and knocked him clear of his feet. Malfoy screamed and the smell of burning flesh filled the air. The aristocratic wizard then began to frantically roll on ground in an effort to douse the flames that threatened to engulf his robes.

"Ginny! Are you alright?" Harry cried desperately as he ran to her.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she replied, painfully getting to her feet. "The bastard didn't catch me fully with that spell. Hurts like hell, though."

"_Stupefy!" _cried a voice from their left and they turned just in time to see Sirius stagger and fall backwards.

Straight towards the veil.


	13. Chapter 13 – A Final Judgement

**Chapter 13 – A Final Judgement **

AN

I can't believe we're to the final chapter already!

Having received 2,568 death threats (approximately) following the previous chapter, I thought I'd better get this one posted pretty quickly. After all, the portable gallows that someone has erected outside my house is taking up a lot of room and parking is tight around here.

Thorny Rose 3 is currently under construction and about a third of it is completed. As is my way, I won't start posting it until I've finished at least the first draft of the whole thing. The plot is all worked out, though, so hopefully it won't take too long to complete.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to read this story, and especially those who left a review. Even the Ron fans (although you guys can stop now, I get the message: you're unhappy!)

Finally, huge thanks to the fastest beta in the West (or East for that matter), Arnel. I'm grateful for you not lobbing that pitchfork in my direction.

* * *

Ginny watched in horror as Sirius's limp body gracefully sailed towards the ragged veil hanging from the arch. Desperately, she tried to aim her wand, but she felt like she was trying to move through treacle. She wouldn't make it in time!

_"Accio Sirius!" _a voice cried.

Sirius's body jerked awkwardly and flew into the open arms of Eva, who stood just at the base of the platform. She caught her fiancé easily and lowered him gently to the ground.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" Bellatrix snarled, "and don't you know it's a bad idea to interrupt me when I'm playing?"

"My name is Eva Katarina Hagen," Eva announced calmly. "I take it I have the displeasure of addressing Sirius's insane cousin?"

"What are you: part troll?" Bellatrix cackled.

"What I am is Sirius's fiancé," Eva replied grimly, "and I don't appreciate you trying to kill the man I love. I would invite you to our wedding, but as I intend to kill you here and now, I don't think that would be appropriate."

"Fiancé?" Bellatrix repeated in amazement before she doubled over laughing. "You? Oh, my dear cousin must have been desperate! What did you do, threaten to beat him up unless he married you?"

"Die, bitch!" Eva howled and threw a Cutting Curse at Lestrange which she narrowly avoided.

A snarl came onto Bellatrix's lips and she cast a Killing Curse at Eva, who threw herself to the ground, letting the curse pass harmlessly over her head. Soon, the two witches were hurling deadly curses at each other at a phenomenal rate.

Although Eva was a skilled and powerful witch, Bellatrix was a deadly duellist and pretty soon the Death Eater started to gain the upper hand. More and more, Eva was forced to raise a Shield Spell to protect herself, giving her no opportunity to strike back.

Eventually, Bellatrix's raw power won through. A Blasting Curse ripped Eva's shield apart and a Disarming Spell tore her wand from her fingers. A look of triumph appeared on Bellatrix's face as Eva's wand sailed through the air towards her.

Knowing she was facing certain death, Eva did something no one expected. Possibly, she remembered seeing the move in Harry's memories when they had been undertaking Occlumency training, or maybe it was just a last desperate act of a beaten woman, but it startled every one when the large, powerful witch charged headlong at her foe.

For a second, Bellatrix froze. Eva was an intimidating witch and the sight of her rapidly bearing down on her must have unnerved the Death Eater. Desperately, she raised her wand to curse Eva, but she was too late.

Eva crashed into the smaller witch, sending her flying backwards. Bellatrix's wand flew from her fingers, leaving both witches unarmed. In such a contest, however, there could be only one winner. Eva grabbed Bellatrix by the throat, while her other hand grabbed a handful of the evil witch's robes. With a howl of anger, Eva physically lifted Bellatrix off the ground.

"Rot in hell, bitch!" Eva roared, and threw Bellatrix head-first towards the veil. Lestrange screamed as she vanished from sight, her final cries being cut off abruptly as she tumbled through the veil.

Eva fell wearily to her knees. A few seconds later, Tonks reached her and frantically began to check her for injuries. Remus headed straight for the fallen body of Sirius and similarly began to treat his friend.

"Look, Malfoy's getting away!" Harry suddenly shouted and pointed to the stairway, which Lucius was struggling up.

"Like hell he is!" Ginny spat and sprinted towards the stairs with Harry at her heels. She heard someone scream at them to come back, but she was determined not to let her hated foe escape.

As soon as he realised he'd been spotted, Malfoy began to run frantically. His injured shoulder was badly hampering him, but his desperation not to be caught gave him new energy. He reached the door at the top of the stairs and disappeared through it. Harry and Ginny gave chase, but the blond Death Eater had a good head start.

The two teenagers piled out of the Death Chamber and into the Revolving Room. There was no sign of Malfoy, however.

"The Atrium!" Ginny declared. "It's the only way he can get out of the building."

"Come on," Harry shouted and grabbed her hand. They sprinted down the dark corridor that led to the lifts and threw themselves into the nearest one. Quickly, they selected Level 8 and breathlessly waited for the lift to halt at the right floor.

As soon as the doors opened they charged out into the main Atrium. It was no longer bustling with people as it had presumably been cleared as a result of the alarm going off. It was easy, therefore, to spot the hunched figure of Lucius Malfoy making his way towards the row of fireplaces used for Floo travel. Harry and Ginny sprinted after him as fast as they could. At the sound of footsteps behind him, Malfoy turned and fired a curse at them. He was forced to use his left hand, so his shooting wasn't very accurate. The teenagers stopped and returned fire with much more precision.

Seeing that he wasn't going to win in a stand-up fight, Malfoy darted behind the nearest cover, the Fountain of Magical Brethren; a huge, ugly monstrosity that a previous Minister had thought was a good idea. From behind this cover, Lucius continued to hurl spells at the teenagers.

"We need to flush him out," yelled Harry as a Cutting Curse narrowly missed him. "Fire Blasting Curses at the statue itself!"

Together, Harry and Ginny both cast powerful curses at the statue. Both spells hit their target and the statue disintegrated in a cloud of dust and smoke. Once the dust had settled, Ginny could see that Malfoy was down. Edging closer, it became apparent that the main part of the Centaur statue had broken off and was trapping the Death Eater underneath it. Ginny grinned triumphantly at the sight.

"We got him, Ginny," Harry started to say. "Look at the… aaaggh!"

Harry suddenly fell to his knees clutching at his scar. Ginny looked on in horror as blood began to trickle from between his fingers.

"Harry, what is… oh, shit!"

Movement had caught her eye and looking over she saw a huge, green snake slithering towards them at surprising speed. She could see it's eyes were a glowing red and it's fangs were already bared.

"It's him… Ginny… it's him," Harry ground out from behind clenched teeth.

"What? What are you talking about, Harry?" Ginny asked in confusion.

The snake was now only about ten yards away. Suddenly, it stopped and wound its body into a coil. Its red eyes watched them intently.

"Ssssooo, we met again, boy," the snake hissed.

Ginny stared at the snake in amazement. Had the beast really just spoken?

"Yeah, it's me again," Harry spat, in obvious pain. "I'm afraid we've just ruined another of your little schemes, Voldemort!"

The penny dropped. Ginny looked at the snake in horror as she realised that the Dark Lord had managed to obtain a new body, just not the one they had been expecting.

"He possessed a snake?" Ginny gasped.

"Ahhhh, it issss the Weassssley girl," Voldemort hissed. "Good, I ssssshall enjoy killing you, too."

"Never! We defeated you once and we can do it again," Harry yelled defiantly.

"Your mind is ssssstronger than it wasssss, boy," Voldemort continued, "but you still can't keep me out."

Without warning, Harry screamed and fell to the floor. His face was contorted in such agony that he barely looked human. Ginny dropped to her knees and ran her hands over him, but she could find no obvious cause for his pain. Voldemort's words suddenly became clear to her: he was trying to possess Harry!

"Fight him, Harry!" she urged. "You're stronger than he is, force him out."

"Kill me!" Harry begged in a ragged voice. "I can't stand the pain! Kill me, please!"

Ginny felt her heart break at his pathetic plea. Tears came to her eyes as she grabbed his shaking hands.

"Please, Harry, fight him!" she pleaded. "I can't lose you, I love you too much. Please fight him."

Abruptly, Harry's body stopped shaking and he opened his eyes. His face was covered in blood from his scar and it had mixed with the tears of pain that he had cried. But the agony that had previously been gripping him appeared to have stopped.

A strange, hissing cry reminded Ginny that Voldemort was just feet away. She looked up to see the great snake was thrashing about while omitting a hideous, strangled shriek. It was clear that Voldemort was now the one suffering. Quickly, she aimed her wand at the undulating creature while she had the chance.

_"Confrigo!" _she cried, firing a Blasting Curse at the snake. Unfortunately, the spell seemed to have little effect on the snake's thick skin, other than to alert Voldemort to the danger. Slowly, the snake uncoiled and reared up, as in preparation to strike.

"_Confrigo! Confrigo!" _she screamed in mounting panic. The spells hit, but other than knocking the snake back a few feet, appeared to do no damage. "Shit! _Confrigo!_"

_"Confrigo!_" a voice cried out from beside her. Looking over, Ginny saw Harry had managed to get to his feet and had his wand aimed at Voldemort.

The spell Harry fired was so bright Ginny could barely look at it. The beam of purple light leapt from his wand and struck Voldemort squarely in the head. There was a tremendous blast and the snake appeared to disintegrate in front of her eyes. The headless body crashed to the ground with a sickening slap. Immediately, a strange green mist appeared to rise from the body of the snake. Ginny gasped as she recognised it for what it was: a trapped soul-part being released. The snake had been a Horcrux!

Ginny's attention was suddenly diverted by Harry limply collapsing to the floor. She frantically hurried over to his fallen body and was relieved to see his eyes open and his chest heaving.

"Think I… put a bit… too much into that… spell," Harry wheezed.

The sound of running feet made Ginny look up and she saw a group of people wearing the familiar red robes of Aurors approaching them. At the head of the group, she was pleased to see the Auror who had arrest Umbridge, Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"Rest easy, Harry," she said turning her attention back to her exhausted boyfriend. "Help is on the way."

"Ginny," he wheezed, "I… love you, too."

With those words, Harry shut his eyes and let unconsciousness claim him. Tears ran down Ginny's face as she gently stroked his cheek. That was the first time he had ever told her that he loved her.

"What the hell's going on here?" Shacklebolt demanded angrily as he reached them.

"Oh, you lot have finally got here, have you?" Ginny snapped. "While you bloody Aurors were nowhere in sight, me and my boyfriend had to fight off a bunch of Death Eaters and that bloody great snake. Thanks for all the help!"

"Death Eaters? What Death Eaters?" Shacklebolt asked in confusion.

"How about that one trapped under the statue for starters," Ginny snarled, "and you'll find a load more of them captured down in the Department of Mysteries, as well. Now, will you please save the stupid questions for later and get Harry to a hospital!"

"Harry? Bloody hell, that's Harry Potter! What's he doing here?" Shacklebolt gasped.

"We had an appointment at the Test Centre, but it got delayed. Harry's godfather was taking us on a tour of the Ministry when the Death Eaters attacked. Now, will you PLEASE get Harry to a Healer!" Ginny yelled at the bemused Auror.

"Right away, Miss. We have Portkeys that can take him straight to St Mungo's," Shacklebolt assured her.

"I'm going, too," Ginny said forcefully and the Auror just nodded.

Shacklebolt reached into his robes and pulled out what looked like a thin book, but Ginny assumed this must be the Portkey. The Auror placed it on Harry's chest and Ginny put her finger on it, too. Just as the Portkey activated, she overheard one of the Aurors talking to her comrade.

"Sweet Merlin! That's Lucius Malfoy. I always knew that git was no good."

Ginny smiled as the Portkey whisked them away.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

A soft groan brought Ginny to full wakefulness. She stiffly got up from the chair she had been dozing in and approached the bed in which Harry was lying. Sure enough, his eyes were open and he was blinking sleepily.

"Welcome back, handsome," she said softly.

Harry's eyes opened fully and he looked directly at her. A smile lit up his face.

"Hi, gorgeous," he greeted her. "Where am I?"

"Your own private room in St Mungo's," she informed him. "You've been here for two days. The Healers said you damn nearly drained your magical core."

"I got him though, didn't I? Voldemort, I mean," Harry asked in concern.

"Yeah, you got him," Ginny assured him. "It looks like old Tommy boy is bodiless once again."

"Good," Harry said, visibly relaxing. "Everyone else is alright, aren't they?"

"Well, Sirius is in the room next to you, but the Healers say he'll probably be released today. Eva's looking after him even as we speak," Ginny grinned.

"She certainly showed Bellatrix who was boss, didn't she?" Harry noted with a vicious grin. "So, what else has been happening while I've been asleep?"

"The Ministry appear to have bought our cover story. As far as they are concerned, we were all at the Ministry building purely by chance when the Death Eaters attacked. You'll be delighted to know that we're all getting Letters of Commendation for helping break up a ruthless terrorist attack. The Daily Prophet was particularly lavish in its praise of your actions," Ginny smirked.

"Great, just what I need; more people fawning over me," he huffed.

"Hey, don't knock it. It's all good publicity. I'll tell you someone who could do with a bit of that at the moment: Fudge. The revelation that Lucius Malfoy really was a Death Eater has come as a bit of blow to him, seeing as it was Fudgy who pardoned the git in the first place. Our beloved Minister is hanging onto his job by the skin of his teeth," Ginny explained.

"Do we need to go public with our information on him? Give him the final push?" Harry asked.

"I think it will depend on who emerges as his likeliest successor," Ginny pondered. "In any event, there's due to be a full enquiry regarding the matter which could take weeks, so we don't have to decide just yet. I think we can safely leave the decision until after you've taken your exams."

Harry groaned. "Will I be well enough to take my OWLs? They're due to start in just a couple of weeks."

"You should be fine," Ginny assured him. "The Healers say that you have to avoid doing any magic for a week, but after that everything should be back to normal. Or as normal as you get, anyway."

"Great, I blow Voldemort's head off and I don't even get out of doing my bloody exams. Where's the justice in that?" Harry joked.

"Oh, my poor baby," Ginny giggled. "Never mind, at least my mum brought you some nice treats to console you."

Harry glanced at the small pile of cakes and sweets that had been left on his bedside table. "Oh, was your mum here, then?"

"Yeah, she was just here about an hour ago. She's been worried sick about you," Ginny told him.

"That's nice of her," Harry said, smiling.

"I have to confess I helped myself to a couple of the lemon cakes," Ginny admitted. "Oh, don't touch the sweets, though. Fred and George left those."

"Duly noted," Harry laughed. "So what's happening with the Death Eaters?"

"They're all awaiting trial at the moment, but it's looking a pretty forgone conclusion. Dad told me that the Aurors used Veritaserum when interrogating them and the results were pretty damning. It looks like a one-way ticket to Azkaban for that lot," Ginny explained. "Oh, I forgot to say, they finally sentenced Umbridge yesterday. She got ten years in prison."

"I hope Azkaban's got plenty of extra room. It looks like it's going to get pretty crowded soon," Harry noted.

"Shame that, isn't it?" she smirked.

"Ginny," Harry began nervously. "How exactly did I manage to fight off Voldemort when he tried to possess me? I mean, one moment I was helpless against him and then the next he just retreated from my mind like a bat out of hell."

"I don't know, Harry," she replied blushing. "What was going through your mind when you managed to force him out?"

"Pain, mostly, I didn't… wait! You! I was thinking about you! You just told me that you loved me and couldn't bear to lose me. As soon as you said that I realised I loved you, too, and how much I wanted to stay with you. You always said Voldemort couldn't stand feelings of love: was it that which forced him out?" Harry asked in wonder.

"I think so," she replied moving over to take his hand. She looked hopefully into his eyes. "Was it true? Do you really love me?"

Harry smiled. "Yeah, I do. It's taken me a long while to realise it, but, hey, you did say that boys are all thick, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did," she said, her eyes shining with unshod tears. "I'm just so happy to hear you say it."

Gently, she leaned in and pressed her lips against his. The kiss was slow and tender, as if they were both trying to convey their feelings through it. Ginny felt Harry's hands begin to stroke her hair and she intensified the kiss.

They were suddenly interrupted by the door opening and Albus Dumbledore entering. Ginny pulled away from her boyfriend and scowled at the Headmaster.

"What are you doing here, sir?" Harry asked coldly. "I thought they only allowed family and invited guests in to visit."

"Now, now, Harry, there's no need for hostility. I merely wanted to see how you were doing. I'm delighted to see you're awake," Dumbledore said soothingly.

"Come to check up on your unwilling sacrifice, more like," Harry snorted.

"Harry, please. I never intended for you to blindly fall on your sword, but I cannot change what has happened. You must accept my help or other disasters like this mess at the Ministry could occur again," Dumbledore pleaded.

"Disaster? What, disaster? Bellatrix Lestrange is dead, Lucius Malfoy has been outed as a supporter of Voldemort, and ten other Death Eaters will soon be taking up permanent residence at sunny Azkaban. That seems like a pretty solid morning's work to me," Harry said forcefully.

"You cannot put yourself at risk like that, my boy! It would be a catastrophe if you should…" Dumbledore began.

"Die at the wrong moment?" Harry interrupted bitterly.

"I was going to say pass on before your time, but I suppose that crude phrase will serve just as well. The lives of millions of people are in your hands, Harry. You cannot escape your fate no matter how much I wish it were not so. You have the power to finally defeat Voldemort for good, my boy, but the conditions to do so must be absolutely right or it will all be for nought. I am fully aware that I'm not your favourite person at the moment, but you must accept that you need my help and guidance," Dumbledore said calmly.

This was too much for Ginny, and she turned on the old wizard with venom in her eyes.

"You deranged old bastard!" she spat. "You'd happily send Harry out to his death, wouldn't you? Just as long as it fits in with you cunning plan. Well, I have news for you, you twisted old fruit, we're going to get that bloody piece of Voldemort's soul out of Harry without harming a hair on his head, and then we're going to defeat him for good! And guess what? We're going to do it without your help."

"I'm sorry, my poor child, but there is no way of removing the piece of soul without killing Harry. It just can't be done," Dumbledore told her sorrowfully.

"Quite sure about that, are you?" Ginny growled.

"I rather think I know more about these matters than you do, Miss Weasley," the Headmaster replied sternly. "Don't you think that if there was a method I wouldn't have used it by now? Believe me, it tears my heart to know that the son of James and Lily Potter is doomed to die, but what happened to Harry on that fateful night in Godric's Hollow cannot be reversed."

"If it was a proper Horcrux you'd be right, but it isn't, is it?" Ginny taunted.

"What? What did you say?" Dumbledore spluttered in shock.

"Oh, did we forget to mention we know all about Voldemort's nasty little Horcruxes?" Harry snarled.

"But… how? That is the Dark Lord's most closely guarded secret," Dumbledore gasped.

"We're just full of surprises," Harry laughed humourlessly.

"But if you know about the Horcruxes, then you will know that they can only be destroyed by the most destructive of forces. There is no way Harry could survive that," the old wizard pointed out.

"What's the matter? Is your hearing going? As I just said; that would be the case if Harry was a proper Horcrux, but he isn't! His body was never prepared in the correct manner that Horcrux receptacles are required to be and he wasn't subjected to a Binding Ritual, either. Voldemort's sliver of soul isn't properly integrated with Harry's," Ginny yelled in anger.

"How do you know all this?" Dumbledore demanded. "The method of creating a Horcrux is forbidden knowledge, how did you come by this information?"

"Why should we tell you?" Harry growled. "You were going to blindly send me to my death! You don't tell me a thing, so why should I tell you anything? You won't even tell me what the bloody prophecy says."

"I understand that you entered the Hall of Prophecy. Did you manage to learn the contents of the prophecy?" Dumbledore enquired.

"No, the orb containing it was destroyed in the fight," Ginny said angrily.

"Ah," Dumbledore noted with relief clear on his face. "Then I regret that unless you accept my help and guidance then I cannot supply you with that information."

"You treacherous old sod!" Harry bellowed. "How dare you try to blackmail me?"

"Careful, my boy, you are skating on very thin ice at the moment," Dumbledore said warningly. "You clearly know how to create Horcruxes and this makes me wonder exactly what your intentions are. I foolishly stood back and let one Dark Lord rise under my very nose, I will not permit such a thing to happen again."

"You really are a moron, aren't you?" Ginny said acidly. "Do you seriously believe Harry is trying to become the next Voldemort? Don't worry, Headmaster, neither of us has the slightest desire to make Horcruxes for ourselves. Our only intention is to destroy the ones that Voldemort made and send that scum-sucker screaming down to hell."

"And you believe you have a method of destroying the one in Harry?" Dumbledore pressed.

"Yes, we have," Harry informed him, "and if I have my way, we'll be using that method as soon as possible."

Ginny spun on her heels and looked at Harry. He had seemingly decided that he wanted to perform the Soul Bonding ritual with her! He looked at her with a smile on his lips and warmth in his eyes, signalling that he was indeed willing to go through with it.

"May I enquire what this method is?" Dumbledore enquired. "If anything should go wrong, then it would invite disaster on us all."

"No, you may not," Harry snapped. "In fact, until you decide to start sharing information I have nothing more to say to you."

"Harry, I must insist…" Dumbledore began, but was interrupted by the door swinging open and Molly Weasley entering.

"I just wanted to drop this… Harry! You're awake!" Molly cried before bustling over and enveloping Harry in a fierce hug.

"Hello, Mrs Weasley," Harry gasped as he fought for breath. "Thanks for visiting me."

"Not at all, wild horses couldn't keep me away," Molly replied, loosening her grip. "Oh, hello, Albus. Come to visit Harry, too?"

"Yes, he was just leaving, actually," Harry said quickly.

Molly glanced at the Headmaster's unhappy face and then back at Harry. She clearly sensed the unease in the air.

"Well, that's probably for the best. We can't tire poor Harry out too much, Albus," Molly said carefully. "He's only just woken up and must still be very fragile."

"You're quite right, Molly," Dumbledore replied with a note of defeat in his voice. "I'm sure we can continue this conversation when he's well enough to return to Hogwarts. I'll wish you all a pleasant afternoon."

And with that, Dumbledore turned and strode out of the room, leaving two relieved teenagers and one confused woman.

"What was all that about?" Molly demanded.

"Oh, I think the Headmaster's going a bit funny in his old age," Ginny said quickly. "He was berating Harry for being at the Ministry, even though he had a perfectly good reason for being there. I think he forgets that Sirius is Harry's guardian, not him."

"Ginny, you should be more respectful," Molly scolded her mildly, but she did cast a worried glance at the doorway which Dumbledore had vanished through.

"Ginny's right, Mrs Weasley," Harry insisted. "The Professor is trying to make decisions about me that he has no right to make. I sometimes feel like he thinks of me as his private property."

"Oh, come now, Harry. I'm sure it's not as bad as all that," Molly said before shaking her head. "I still can't believe that the two of you were going to take your Apparation test, at your ages! I knew Sirius was teaching you, but I had no idea you'd become so advanced."

"We're full of surprises, Mum," Ginny grinned, echoing Harry's earlier words.

"Don't I know it!" Molly laughed and took a seat.

Ginny smiled as her mother began to fuss over Harry and insist that he have something to eat, not that Harry seemed to mind too much. Her eyes drifted over to her bag which was securely tucked under the chair she'd been sitting in earlier. A bag that contained an undamaged glass orb that she'd taken from Harry's robes the moment they'd arrived at the hospital.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The next few weeks flew by. While Ginny returned to Hogwarts immediately, Harry was allowed to go home to rest for a few additional days. He'd been worried that Dumbledore might try something foolish while he wasn't there to watch Ginny's back, but in the end the Headmaster bided his time.

That's not to say that Dumbledore didn't try to continue the conversation they had at St Mungo's as soon as he returned, however. Both of them had been summoned to the Headmaster's office to discuss 'disciplinary' matters several times. They had combatted this by insisting that their Head of House attend the meetings, too. Professor McGonagall was apparently still disgruntled with Dumbledore and only too willing to accompany them. The Headmaster had not been pleased, to say the least.

Harry had taken the orb containing the prophecy back to Grimmauld Place with him, and they agreed they would view its contents during the summer holidays. With Dumbledore on the prowl it was better to be safe rather than sorry. They also decided that until they had a chance to listen to it they wouldn't mention that they had retrieved the orb to anyone, even Sirius. It was best that they learn what it said first before they involved anyone else.

Another matter that they had yet to address was what to do about Ron. The lanky redhead had retreated into himself after his botched attempt to steal Harry's blood, and barely said a word to anyone. The fact that he appeared genuinely remorseful complicated the matter and the group of friends were undecided what to do. In the end, they decided it was another thing they would deal with during the holidays. Eva and Remus would both probably provide good advice regarding the matter while Sirius would probably want to disembowel Ron for what he tried to do to Harry, but they would deal with that later.

Ginny was currently sitting in the common room idly leafing through a book and half-listening to the chatter around her. Harry and Hermione were both taking their final OWL exam in History of Magic. They'd both been fairly confident of achieving a good mark; Professor Blackmore had proved an interesting and informative teacher and the class was no longer treated as the perfect place to catch forty winks.

Glancing at her watch, Ginny noted that the exam should have finished by now. Sure enough, the portrait hole swung open and a group of tired looking fifth years entered, with Harry and Hermione among them.

"Hi, beautiful," Harry greeted her as he dropped wearily onto the couch next to her and gave her a quick kiss. Since his declaration of love he'd been even more affectionate than normal, something that delighted her.

"So, how did it go?" Ginny asked her friends.

"Pretty well," Hermione told her, "although I'm a bit worried about question four. What did you put, Harry? I put down that the seventeenth century witch-hunts impacted on the Wizarding world because…"

"Hermione! You always do this. You can't go back and change anything, so there's no point dissecting every exam you take in minute detail. Please, can we just rest?" Harry asked in a pained voice.

"Oh, I suppose so," she huffed. "By the way, Ginny, where's Ron?"

"Why should I care where that prat is?" Ginny grumbled.

"He wasn't in the exam," Harry supplied. "He missed it completely. Some of the teachers were quite worried about it."

"I don't know," Ginny admitted with a frown. "Why don't you fetch the Marauder's Map and see if you can find him?"

"Good idea," Harry admitted, rising to his feet and heading towards the stairs to his dorm. About five minutes later he returned with a concerned look on his face.

"I couldn't find Ron on the map at all, but I did find this on my bed," he admitted.

Harry handed an envelope to Ginny with her name written on it. She recognised the messy scrawl as being Ron's immediately. She ripped it open and quickly began to read.

_Dear Ginny_

_I suppose I'm the last person you want to receive a letter from at the moment, but as you're the best person to explain what happened to Mum and Dad, I really don't have a choice._

_The last few weeks have been hell for me as I finally see what a bloody mess I've made of everything. You were right, my jealousy and anger were blinding me and caused me to betray by best friends and my family. Truthfully, I'm disgusted with myself at the moment. _

_I don't even know why I did half the things I did. I wasn't even really angry at Harry for dating you; in fact, I'd been hoping that would happen for a while. I knew you always carried a candle for him and he was always going to be the best choice for you. Besides, if he was dating you it meant he wasn't interested in Hermione. Not that it matters anymore, I've well and truly stuffed that one up as well, haven't I? _

_By the time you read this letter I will be long gone. Every time I see you, Harry or Hermione, the shame is simply too much to bear. I hate the person I've become and I need to sort my life out, but I can't do that at Hogwarts. I've decided to travel a bit and see if I can't sort my head out. I would say please don't look for me, but there's no chance of Mum not doing that, is there? She'd drag me back home by my ear if she had the chance. But she won't. I'm not a bad wizard when I put my mind to it, and I'm confident I can avoid detection. Malfoy even showed me how to suppress the Trace on me, so the Ministry won't even be able to detect my magic. It's about the only useful thing that git ever did for me. Hex him for me would you, sis?_

_Please tell the rest of the family that I'm not gone for good, but I have to work my way through this before I can face them again. Maybe I'll be able to find a way to make amends for all the bad things I've done. That's what I'm hoping, anyway. _

_Tell the others that I'm sorry and that I hope one day I can earn their forgiveness. Until I see you again look after yourself and don't get into any trouble (some hope!). _

_Your loving but incredibly stupid brother,_

_Ron _

"Ginny, what's the matter? What does the letter say?" Hermione asked in concern.

"Ron's gone," Ginny said simply, "and it's all my fault."


End file.
